Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Reveling peacefully in the afterglow of great sex, we cuddled on the couch, watching the palms sway in the wind through the panoramic view of the back windows overlooking the Gulf. I loved these quiet reprieves when I felt safe and protected. That’s how I thought of Hale. He was my protector.
“Are you stressing about the wedding?”
I glanced up at him. “I’m always stressing about the wedding. But I was also thinking about how nice this is.”
“This is nice.”
It had been a long time since we simply sat like this. The holidays had been busy and then Hale’s job inevitably demanded most of his time. My job working for Remington also kept me on the go. Then there was Elara and school and just trying to make everything work at once. The idea of adding an enormous wedding into the mix overwhelmed me.
“Do we have any chocolate?”
He laughed. “I’m sure you have a supply squirreled away. If not, there’s always your secret stash upstairs, the one you keep with your vibrator.”
“Don’t judge. It’s my feel good drawer.”
“I’m not judging. I like to see you happy.”
I sighed. I liked that he liked that. I felt the same, which was why I wanted to go through with this extravagant wedding, so I could see him happy too.
He leaned over and pulled open a drawer. “Jelly beans?”
“No. I want chocolate.” I sighed. “Why haven’t they started making other candy bars large like Toblerone bars?”
“You’re back on this?”
“I’m just saying, I would totally buy gigantic KitKats if they made them.”
“I don’t know.”
“Bigger candy bars could be the solution for world peace.”
“I’ll notify Nobel.” He toppled me to my back. “You think about candy far too much.”
“Well, duh, it’s candy. There are very few things better than chocolate in this world.”
“I could think of a few.” He tickled me and I squealed. I loved it when Hale turned playful. It was a side of him only I got to see.
Twisting and squirming, I tried to escape as he blew raspberries on my stomach. I scrambled to pull down my dress and shoved him away with a firm foot planted on his chest. He caught my ankle and laughed, playfully biting my calf.
Any moment we would be interrupted. The phone would ring or Andrew would return with Elara. I treasured these times alone when Hale and I got to simply enjoy each other like this.
That reminded me… “Are my panties still in the foyer?”
“They’re in my pocket.”
I relaxed. He never missed a beat.
There was still one thing we hadn’t addressed and I dreaded even bringing it up. “Hale, I have to ask you something. I don’t want to have a drawn out conversation about it. I just need to get it out of the way so I know what to expect.”
He sat up, sensing the seriousness of my tone. I also scooted up and crossed my legs, tucking my feet under my knees and fixing my dress.
“What is it?”
“I know we’re inviting a lot of people and I get that they’re on the guest list because of business associations and political ties.”
His brow creased. “Some are family and friends, too, Rayne. I want you to meet everyone.”
“Like Noah?”
He gave an apologetic smile. “Are you upset I didn’t clear that with you?”
“No. You can have whoever you want as a groomsman. I just never heard you mention him before.”
“When Noah got married I was in his wedding. It seemed appropriate.”
“It’s fine. That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What then?”
I should just come out and ask, but I knew there was no delicate way to drop her name into conversations. Every time she came up the atmosphere changed as if an atom were fractured open. “What about Jasmine?”
He drew back and scowled. “Why the fuck would she be invited to our wedding?”
“I don’t know, because she’s married to your father.” That didn’t help.
His scowl darkened. “Their marriage is a business arrangement. My father wouldn’t dare bring her to what should be the happiest day of our lives.”
Did he really expect the wedding to be our happiest day? The fact that he assumed I might also see it that way alarmed me. “Elara’s birth was the happiest day of your life, Hale.”
He took my hand and squeezed. “Then this will be my second.”
I smiled, wondering what would be mine. Probably the day after the wedding when all the wedding stuff was over and we were finally husband and wife.
“Listen to me. Jasmine is no longer a part of our lives. She’s living in Europe and that’s where she’ll stay. My father wants nothing to do with her and I want less. Don’t worry about her. She can’t touch our happiness. Trust me.”
I did trust him, but after everything Jasmine pulled over the last year, trying to use Elara as leverage in a custody battle to get more money out of the Davenports, I would never trust her. That woman was more than Hale’s ex who cheated on him with his father. She was evil.