Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
“So are you fucking him or dating him?”
“Refer to a, b, and c.”
“He came here.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it? Okay?”
“Yes. Okay.”
“He told you.”
“You tell me.”
“He wanted me to tell you that he didn’t force the takeover and ruin me or us. He offered me money. Millions of dollars and you know why. That convention center deal you’re working on. He can’t have that go south. He needs to sweeten you up and keep you in his bed until he gets that payday.”
I wait for that to hit home and feel real, but it doesn’t happen. “Because there’s no way I could possibly matter to him? Why? Because I’m not pretty enough? Because I’m not smart enough? Because I’m not what? Not good enough?”
Reid reappears in the doorway with two cups in his hand, his eyes meeting mine, and what passes between us in that moment is full of promise, full of trust, a part of a growing bond that this call with my father has not broken.
“Carrie,” my father says. “You’re a beautiful woman, but he is an evil bastard.”
The evil bastard sits down next to me and hands me a cup of coffee that smells like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I take a sip and glance at Reid. “He’s an asshole, not an evil bastard.”
Reid smiles—God, I love his smile—and he follows it with a wink. “What’s happening in Montana?” I ask.
“He told you, didn’t he?”
“Should I ask him?” I retort, avoiding a lie.
He’s silent a moment that becomes two. “I want you to come here. I want you to see the horse ranch I’m staying at. There’s real money in stallions. With your charm, we can lure in some professional riders, stable their horses, give them a place to train.”
He didn’t tell me about the oil. He’s hoping Reid didn’t. “I don’t even know what to say to that, father. I really don’t. How long does it take for that to get my money back?”
“It’s a long-term investment, but a stable one. We need a stable business this go around and there’s a bonus. There’s oil under the property, so if the horses stop delivering profit, we have a fallback that protects them and us.”
“And how much will all of this cost us?”
“Nothing, Carrie. I’m going to marry Stella, the woman who owns it. Well if she accepts. I haven’t proposed yet.”
“Marry?” My eyes meet Reid’s and he nods, his expectancy at this announcement. “Who is she?”
“A retired school teacher. Forty-four. Widowed. She inherited the ranch. She loves the horses.”
“And you get the oil.”
“It’s not like that. It started out that way, yes. But Carrie, honey, she’s special.”
Reid’s hand settles on my leg, grounding me as I listen to my father ramble for several minutes about this woman, but he never goes at Reid again, which tells me he’s so nervous over the woman, the oil, and my money, that he’s hyper-focused on his defense, not Reid’s execution.
We disconnect, without him asking one question about the convention deal he’s thrown out as ammunition against Reid. That bothers me, but of course, he’s in that hyper-focus mode. I set my phone down and sip my coffee. “Thanks for this.”
He sets his cup on the floor and then takes mine and does the same. “You’re too beautiful, too smart, and too perfect for me, but I am never letting you go.”
I drag my fingers over the one-day stubble along his jawline. “And you are such an evil bastard, but apparently I like you that way.”
He leans in and nuzzles my neck, his lips by my ear as he says, “I’ll show you just how evil if you ever let me use those cuffs.”
I smile, but don’t reply. I think tonight would be a good night to show him I do indeed trust him by letting him have his wish. “I’ll think about it.”
He pulls back. “That’s more than I’ve gotten before.”
“Yeah well, I’m trusting you, remember?”
“I do,” he says, pulling me to my feet. “Just make sure you do.”
I don’t question why he makes this statement. I just heard my father call him an evil bastard.
A few minutes later, Reid and I are in his apartment, in his bathroom, and he walks to his closet, flips on the light and sets my bag inside. “Claim your space.”
“What?”
“I plan to keep you here as much as possible. Claim your space.”
He walks forward and catches my hand, guiding me into the closet where his suits are neatly lining one wall and his casual clothes another. He points me toward the empty center rack. “It has your name all over it. And there’s never been a woman’s clothes inside these walls.”
My stomach flutters and I rotate to face him. “What are we doing, Reid?”
“Everything I can convince you to do. I’m just that kind of evil bastard.” I laugh at the reference to my father’s remark, and he drags me to the shower with him and it’s not long before I’m against the wall, and he’s fucking me into a very good morning. By the time we’re dressed, me in my lucky navy-blue dress, and him in a gray pin-striped suit with a gray tie, it’s nearly nine, and we’re walking to work, the hell of the weekend behind us.