Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“You should step in and have your photo taken with her,” he said.
“Yeah.” I nodded once and walked over to her.
I’d been staring at her for as long as the photographers had, enthralled by her beauty and poise. I needed to stop idolizing her, thinking of her as some unattainable object. She was a woman, and she was right in front of me. The fact that I knew she had such a huge crush on me was flattering, but now that she was right in front of me, without her brothers or mother or anyone else to stand between us, I wasn’t sure what I expected. Perhaps because my conquests had always come easily, I figured she would’ve flung herself at me already. But she hadn’t. Not really, anyway. I didn’t count her drunken advances the other night because it would have been unfair to do so. I hadn’t told her how she’d slowly stripped down for me and begged me to fuck her. I didn’t tell her how difficult it was for me to say no and walk out of there. No. Scratch that. It hadn’t been difficult for me to say no because she was out of her mind. If she’d been sober, walking away would have damn near killed me. And now here she was, all innocent again, with that underlying sexiness that I couldn’t seem to not be attracted to.
I walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to me slightly as the press continued snapping photos of us.
“When did you two meet?” one of the photographers asked. I continued smiling. I wasn’t going to give them anything, but Pilar spoke.
“We’re old friends,” she said. “We both happened to be in town, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to support this wonderful organization that Benjamin has created.”
“Were you familiar with the Drake Foundation before tonight?”
“I knew as much as you did.” She winked. “But I know Ben, and when he called me to tell me how the foundation benefits underprivileged children, I knew I wanted to be a part of the unveiling.”
“Are you here on behalf of the Crown?” another asked.
“Aren’t I always?” Pilar laughed. “But I’m also here because I want to be.”
“Are you a couple?” another asked.
I felt Pilar stiffen.
“We’ll see you inside,” I said, smiling. “Thank you for being here.”
I led her away from the photographers. She sighed heavily the second we were out of view. I opened my mouth to say something, but we were interrupted by a man with a silver mohawk and a huge smile directed at Pilar. I kept my hand on her lower back as he introduced himself, first to her and then to me. Bryan Silver.
“Bryan Silver,” I repeated. “Fitting. With the hair and all.”
“Thanks, mate. I just got it done. My band, Silver Fox, is touring, and I thought it would be a nice touch.”
“Silver Fox.” I smiled in recognition. His band would be performing here tonight. They were donating any money made to the foundation. I shook his hand again. “Thank you so much for doing this for us.”
“Thank you for inviting us. We’re massive fans,” he said. “Massive fans.”
“Have you heard them play before?” Pilar asked me.
“I can’t say that I have, but I look forward to it.”
“They’re really great. Good choice, Benjamin.” She smiled, the genuine one, and I felt myself grinning back at her.
“Well, I have to finish setting up. I just wanted to introduce myself.” Bryan walked away with a slight wave and a wink at Pilar.
I wondered if they’d dated or if he was trying to date her. As far as I knew, not many people had succeeded in taking her out, which was why I’d opted for this event. I knew taking her on a regular date, away from all of the cameras, would have been more ideal, but I also wasn’t ready for her to turn me down the way she’d done to so many others.
When I saw her the other night, dancing on tables and drinking her weight in alcohol, she’d opened up and told me how she was supposed to make appearances on behalf of the Crown. In that moment, I thought, well isn’t this an opportunity? I called my original date and canceled, something I’d have to deal with later. I didn’t have any crazy ex-girlfriends, but Kayla wasn’t an ex-girlfriend. She was a constant booty call, and she was a little crazy, which was why she remained a booty call and never made it to girlfriend status. And even though I made it clear that going with me to the gala did not mean we were back on in any way, once I canceled on her, I knew Kayla didn’t feel that way. It made me even more glad that I’d canceled. It was important to keep a clear line between friendship and something more.