Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Okay, by my estimation, you owe me…” he checked the math on his phone after he won three games in a row, “one million, three hundred and forty thousand dollars.”
“I’ll write you a check,” I laughed. I went to take another sip of my wine, but I realized the glass was empty. I’d been absentmindedly picking it up between my turns, doing anything I could to occupy my attention so that it didn’t stray toward Dominic.
“Another glass and another game?” Evan asked, flagging down the waitress.
“Another game, but I’m going to get water.” I wasn’t tipsy, exactly, but I wouldn’t be driving home for another hour.
The bar was a large U-shape that hooked around the middle of the bar, creating what felt like two rooms. The side we were on was noisy and raucous, but as I followed the curve of the bar to the other side where there was a water dispenser, I realized it was much quieter. There were booths against the wall instead of pool tables. Framed watercolors on the wall instead of dartboards.
I filled a glass with ice water and wandered over to look at the paintings. The unexpected quieter side was a nice reprieve from the commotion that had been swirling around me for the last couple of hours. I could still hear it, but I could also hear myself think. And of course, I was thinking about Dominic.
Was it all in my head, or had he really been watching me play darts with Evan for the last hour? And if he had, why? A man like Dominic White had to have a hundred women throwing themselves at him. He was devastatingly handsome, obscenely wealthy, and notoriously single. And the fact that he was also ruthlessly calculating and impossible to read only added to his mystique.
No, there was no way he’d been watching me, that he felt even a fraction of the dark fascination I held for him. He couldn’t. I’d almost convinced myself of that by the time I turned away from the portraits and found him standing right behind me.
I gasped in surprise and nearly dropped my glass of water. Cold liquid splashed over the rim, onto my hand. Dominic plucked a napkin from the stack on the bar and took another step closer. “I thought you were only staying for one drink.”
“I was.” I set the glass down on the bar and took the napkin, unnerved by his closeness. “But I got…distracted.” I’d planned to say I got caught up in the game. Somehow my brain switched out the words.
Dominic’s mouth pulled down at the corners. “I didn’t know you and Evan Peterson were such good friends.”
His voice was cold, almost disinterested, but I saw something in his eyes. Something that told me this wasn’t all in my head.
I lifted my chin, feeling reckless again, and looked up at him. He was so close after a week of keeping his distance. Both felt significant. Both lent support to the quiet murmur of my subconscious. “Now you do. Is that a problem?”
Dominic’s eyes burned into mine like dry ice. “Maybe it is.”
My heart was beating a million miles per minute now, but somehow my voice stayed cool, unaffected. “You know, I barely knew him before you made me come tonight. Now I think we’re going to be very good friends. So, thank you.”
Then I walked past him and hurried back to the noisy, exuberant side. Evan was waiting for me, holding the darts in one hand, a beer in the other. “I’m sorry, I just realized what time it is,” I gabbled. “I have to go.”
My cool veneer was crumbling quickly. I knew I had to get out of this bar before what remained of my composure was rubble at my feet and Dominic saw exactly how much he affected me.
“Yeah, of course. Are you good to drive?” Evan asked, his brows knitting in concern.
I told him I was, then hurried out of the bar, waving goodbye to the other people I knew without stopping. I’d lied to Evan. I wasn’t driving anywhere yet. I stood on the sidewalk, undecided for a moment, then saw the illuminated windows of the Marks Wealth Management building beckoning from across the street. Of course! I’d go back and get a little more work done while I waited for the wine to leave my system.
I hurried across the street and into the building. My heart continued to beat fast as I rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, but when I settled into my office chair, it began to slow. By the time I got my computer started up again, it was nearly back to its normal rate.
Then I heard the elevator gears whirring again, and the sound of the doors sliding open and footsteps.
I didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Dominic coming toward me.