Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“I’m glad to hear that, but I’m sorry you had to go through what you did for him to get serious about his sobriety.”
I pressed my hand against my chest. “All I did was hide at my parents’ house while Arrow took care of the problem. Sage was the one who went through the wringer because of Paul.”
“Don’t downplay what happened. You might not have been physically assaulted like Sage”—his fists clenched at his sides, as though just the thought of me being hurt made him furious—“but you weren’t taking a vacation either. The situation was still difficult for you.”
“It was.” I reached out and squeezed his forearm. “Thanks again for taking Paul to the rehab center. I would’ve been a sobbing mess if I’d had to do it myself.”
“You’re welcome, baby. I just wish I’d been around to do more.” He flashed me a sexy grin. “But at least I’m here now.”
I glanced at the screen of my phone and cringed. “I am so sorry. As happy as I am to see you, I really have to get going. I have a networking event for work that starts in half an hour.”
“Damn, my timing sucks again.” His gaze dropped to take in the black jumper I was wearing, and his eyes filled with masculine appreciation. “Can I walk you down to your car?”
“That would be great,” I quickly agreed, reluctant to part ways so soon. “I just need to slip on my shoes and grab my bag.”
“Don’t rush on my account. I’ll take every minute with you that I can get.”
Butterflies swirled in my belly as I darted into my bedroom to grab my black sling-back heels. After I put them on, I made sure my lipstick was in my purse and headed toward the front door where Silas was waiting for me. “Okay, I’m ready.”
He placed his palm against my lower back as he led me out of the building, sending a shiver of awareness down my spine. “What kind of networking event are you going to tonight?”
“Nothing fancy. Just happy hour & hors d'oeuvres at a nearby hotel, mostly with event planners and people from the office. The goal is to schmooze them so they’ll be more inclined to book events with us. I’m a marketing assistant for a local hospitality company that owns and operates a bunch of restaurants and hotels all over California.”
Silas let out a low whistle of appreciation as he held the door and gestured with a sweep of his hand for me to go first. “Impressive.”
“Thanks. It’s my first real job since I only recently got my bachelor’s,” I explained, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“Beauty, kindness, and brains. You really are the whole package, Phoebe Baker.”
Luckily, he knew which car was mine and was able to guide me directly toward it because my head was in the clouds over his compliment. It was also a good thing that he was much more observant than me since I would most likely have missed the piece of paper tucked under my wiper blade until after I pulled out of the parking lot.
“What’s this?” he asked, his brows drawing together.
“Probably just a flyer for a local pizza place.” I pulled the sheet off my windshield and turned it over, gasping when I saw how wrong I was.
Before I could fully absorb the threat that someone had left behind to warn me to keep my nose out of other people’s business, Silas pulled the paper from my hand and growled, “What the fuck?”
“I…I…I don’t understand,” I cried, wrapping my arms around my middle and hugging myself tightly before Silas uttered another curse and pulled me against his chest. “Why would someone leave a note like that for me?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure as fuck gonna find out,” he vowed, brushing a kiss against the top of my head.
I took the comfort he offered for about a minute before pulling away to stare up at him with pleading eyes. My hands were shaky as I gripped the front of his shirt and whispered, “This doesn’t make any sense. I swear my life is normally drama free. In fact, I’m pretty boring compared to most people.”
Gripping the corner of the note between his index finger and thumb, he shook his head. “Not sure you’ll ever be able to convince me that you’re boring, baby.”
“That’s only what you think because both times you’ve been around me, there’s been major drama,” I huffed as I tried to wrap my head around what was happening. “But my days are boring as heck. I haven’t been at my job long enough to have moved past acquaintances to friends with any of my coworkers, and that’s where I spend most of my time besides being at home or seeing my parents. Sage is the person I’m closest with, but it can’t be about her because she’s been on her honeymoon. And I don’t see how Paul could be involved since he’s been at rehab this whole time. The only visitors he had before I went to see him were my parents, and they’d never do something like this.”