Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(71)

“Babe, it’s about us. That’s some good shit,” he teased.

I shook my head and stood up, putting my hands on my hips. “Krit, that’s . . . that’s twenty-four thousand dollars in just two weeks.” Even saying it out loud sounded insane. Crazy! People did not make that kind of money in two weeks. Especially not college students.

“What?” Krit asked slowly.

I hadn’t discussed pricing with him, or how much profit I received per book. This was where he got the shock. “Twenty-four thousand. I make three dollars a book,” I explained.

Krit’s eyes went wide, and then something happened. The excitement and pride that had been there faded. Something else took its place before he turned his head away from me. “That’s amazing, love. Really amazing. I knew you’d do it. You deserve it,” he said, finally glancing back at me. “I gotta get back to class. I’ll see you tonight,” he said, then kissed me hard on the mouth before walking out of the apartment we shared.

What the heck had just happened?

Krit

Going back to class was pointless. My head was f**ked up. Everything was f**ked up. This was just the beginning for her. Two weeks and she’d made what it took me about six months to make. Holy shit.

I needed to talk to my sister. No, not her. She’s a woman. I needed to talk to Rock. He’d understand before Trisha would. The diamond ring I’d been making payments on for the past six months didn’t seem so damn impressive anymore. Eight thousand dollars had kicked my ass, but I was making the final payment on it this Friday.

Planning how to propose to Blythe had been an even longer ordeal. I had changed my mind ten times already. I was sure I had decided what I wanted to do now, but after this . . . could I?

FUCKED! This was so f**ked.

Twenty-four thousand goddamn dollars. Motherf*cker, that was insane. And it was going to get worse. She was going to be making millions at this rate. She was almost finished writing her second novel. So then she’d have two books out there making this kind of money.

I pulled my bike over and called Rock.

“What’s up?” he said by way of greeting.

“Where are you? I need to talk.”

“I’m over at the condos Dewayne has going up. I was going with him and Preston to get some lunch. Want to come with us?”

Telling Rock this was one thing. He was family. This wasn’t shit you shared with other people. “No, just need to talk to you. When will you be done with lunch?”

“Wait a sec,” Rock said. “D, I gotta go meet up with Krit. I’ll catch up with y’all later.” Then he said to me, “I’m headed to my house. Meet me there in five.”

I slipped my phone into my pocket and turned my Harley back to the road before heading to my sister’s house.

By the time I arrived, Rock’s truck was parked outside and he was leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest, watching me. I didn’t normally come to him with stuff. He usually gave me advice I didn’t want. The truth was, Rock might be just a couple of years older than me, but he had become a safe place for me when I was a scared kid. When he had walked into our lives, I was fourteen and trying to keep my sister alive. Then Rock Taylor had stepped in and saved us both.

He was my family.

I parked my bike by his truck, then walked over to him.

“Sounds serious,” he said, studying me closely.

“It is. I think. Fuck, I don’t know.” This was so damn confusing.

“Let’s hear it.”

I had come here to tell him my problem and get advice. Backing out now was a pu**y move. With a frustrated sigh, I looked at the man I considered a brother. “I can’t propose to Blythe. Not anymore. It won’t look right,” I blurted out. That hadn’t been exactly the way I wanted to say it, but that was what came out.

My biggest fear. The one thing that was haunting me and driving me mad.

Rock frowned. “You mean after spending all that money on a ring and working shifts for Dewayne to make extra cash, you aren’t gonna propose? What the f**k happened?”

“She . . . she published her book. She didn’t want me to tell anyone. She did it two weeks ago,” I explained.

Rock grinned. “That’s awesome. Why didn’t she want you telling people?”

“Because she was nervous. Scared. Hell, I don’t know. I just didn’t say anything. But it’s doing better than she expected. Much better. Like five figures better in two damn weeks.”

Rock let out a loud laugh. “No f**king way! That’s great, man. What’s the problem? I bet she’s thrilled.”

He wasn’t getting it. Frustrated, I shoved my hand through my hair and groaned. “Yeah, it’s great. She is thrilled, and I’m happy for her. Don’t get me wrong. I’m so damn proud of her. But . . . but now that she’s making this kind of money, I can’t go and propose. That’s like me saying that now that she’s big money, I want to get hitched.”

Rock frowned. “That’s not the truth. You’ve been working your ass off to get her a ring that was bigger than anything Blythe expects.”

“Bad timing,” I snapped.

Rock finally got it. “Shit.”

“What do I do?” I asked him.

Rock sighed and shrugged. “Dude, I don’t know. I’ve never had to worry about Trisha thinking I wanted her for her money. Maybe this isn’t a permanent thing and it won’t be this much money in the future. When she’s making less money, would you feel better proposing then?”