Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
“I can’t do this, Cammie.” She was starting to panic as her friend helped her sit down, before sliding the heels onto her feet. “What if I embarrass him? I don’t know the first thing about high society. What if there’re multiple forks, Cammie?” She grabbed her friend’s shoulders and shook her. “What. If. There. Are. Multiple. Forks.”
“Okay, first of all, calm down. Take a deep breath. In, then out. Now again. In, then out. Right, listen to me. If there are multiple forks just follow what Reuben does.”
“Follow what Reuben does. Right. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”
She was an idiot.
“You’ve got this.”
But she didn’t. She really didn’t. She was going to mess it up. Perhaps that was for the best, though. If she messed up now, then he’d know the truth about her.
That she couldn’t do anything right.
“You’re all ready to go.”
Thank God Eric had gone out to watch the game at his local watering hole. Having him here would have been a disaster.
She walked out of the spare bedroom where she’d been getting ready just as the doorbell rang. Only she tripped over something in the hallway and would have fallen if Cammie hadn’t grabbed her.
Cammie moved ahead of her to open the door. And then she saw him.
Why was he so sexy?
She drank him in. It felt like forever since she’d last seen him and yet it had only been three nights.
Was she already addicted to him?
Perhaps.
But she wasn’t sure that it was an addiction she wanted to be cured of.
“Hi, I’m Cammie. Faith’s friend.” Cammie smiled up at Reuben.
Faith tensed.
Cammie was gorgeous. Would Reuben take one look at her and wonder how he’d ended up with the plain friend? With no grace. No real class. She was just a country mouse with a failed florist business and debt up to her eyeballs.
She was no one.
But she watched as Reuben glanced at Cammie. He gave her a small nod. And then he turned to Faith. There was heat in his eyes.
Need. Demand.
She felt herself growing weak at the knees. Having all of his attention on her . . . it was heady. It made everything spin until she forgot to breathe.
“Faith. Come here.”
She shook her head. Not to defy him, but because she couldn’t move without falling over.
“Faith.”
Drat. Okay. But if she fell on her face, he was going to have to redo her makeup. She snorted as she realized how ridiculous that was.
“Oh God, did you just snort?” Cammie groaned.
Reuben shot Cammie a look.
Fudge knuckles. Faith knew that look. He was about to explode and eviscerate her.
“Reuben.” She practically fell into his arms. He caught her, holding her close. “I missed you. How is Juliet?”
As his attention moved back to her, she felt like her heart started racing, but also like she could take a full breath again.
Had she even been breathing these last few days? She wasn’t sure. But the world was definitely sharper. There was more color.
“She’s fragile but doing better. God, you look so beautiful, Faith.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “So fucking stunning. We’re not going.”
“What?” She stared up at him in shock.
“You have to go,” Cammie said. “I just spent two hours on her hair and makeup.”
Reuben stared at Cammie like he was confused about why she was there. H he didn’t look at Cammie like she was more than Faith.
More beautiful. More talented. More intelligent.
Perhaps Reuben was the one man immune to her friend’s charms.
Reuben moved his attention back to her. “We’re not going because I don’t want anyone else looking at you.”
God, the possessiveness in that statement was off the charts.
Yet, she felt herself melt slightly.
“That’s . . . that’s crazy,” Cammie whispered. “And yet it’s also sexy as hell.”
Yep. It was.
“We have to go,” she said. “You’re getting an award.”
Reuben scowled. “So?”
“So, Cammie spent two hours on my hair and makeup, I bought a new dress, and Cat is expecting me. I don’t want to disappoint Cat.”
That part was true. Cat had started blowing up her phone with ideas for pranks, cute memes, and photos of bread and butter. The last bit was . . . odd. But she went with it. Who didn’t like bread and butter?
“She’ll get over it,” he dismissed. “And that award means nothing. I donated money. Big deal.”
But it was. Because that money was helping sick kids. And it was proof that he had a softer side. Somewhere. Deep down.
“She won’t . . . she really won’t. And it is a big deal. We have to go.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But you’ll stay by my side the entire time. And if anyone looks at you too long, I will ruin them.”
Another shiver of pleasure.
What was wrong with her? Seriously. She was a good girl from a small country setting. She never even went over the speed limit. Barely ever cursed.