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)
“Oh thank God.”
He tries to enter the shower and I press my hand on his chest. “No sex. Not until tomorrow night.”
“What? No.”
“It’s bad luck,” I say. “Really bad luck.”
“I have never heard of bad luck sex before the wedding.”
“You can’t even stay here tonight.”
He climbs into the shower and presses me against the wall, his thick cock pressed between my thighs. “Tonight is a long way off.”
“Reid,” I whisper. “We can’t.” But his mouth is already on mine, and he is touching me, this man that is going to be my husband. Just thinking about being his wife undoes me. I can’t hold back. I kiss him back and we are lost in each other, wild, crazy. He’s pressing inside me and pumping hard and fast. It’s like we feel like this is the last time we will ever fuck when we have a lifetime. But it’s not about this being the last time. It’s about that new bond we’re about to seal, that ultimate commitment.
When it’s over, we sink to the floor of the shower and we end up laughing and talking. I’m in heaven with this man and a shower that’s getting cold, but with the promise of a steamy hot wedding night.
Hours later, I stand in the fitting room of the boutique with Cat and Mia, elated over how stunning the dress looks now perfectly fitted. Cat walks up to me and hands me a jewelry box. “Something borrowed. This was my mother’s. I’d be honored if you wore it and so would she. She so wanted Reid to be the Reid he is now with you. And it matches your rings.” She opens the box and displays a gorgeous ruby and diamond necklace.
I gasp and so does Mia at just how gorgeous it is. “It’s stunning,” I say. “And yes. Please. I’d love to wear it, but you keep it until right before the wedding, please. Keep it safe.”
“You keep him safe.”
“I will,” I promise, and I reach for her to hug her.
“No!” Mia, Cat, and the seamstress shout. “Don’t mess up the dress.”
We all laugh when a male voice fills the room. “Wow. Wow. Wow.” My eyes lift to the mirror to find my father standing there. “My daughter is gorgeous.”
I try to turn and again Mia, Cat, and the seamstress shout, “No!”
“I’ll come to you, honey,” my father says and in just a few steps he’s standing by my side. “Even prettier up close.”
“Thank you, dad. Let me go change and we can talk. That means you have to go out of the room.”
He holds his hands up. “Got the message.” He backs out of the room and the seamstress and Cat both help me out of my gown. A few minutes later, I’m back in jeans and a T-shirt. I hug Mia and Cat. “I need to spend some time with my father. I’ll call you both later today.” I look at Cat. “Reid is going to try to stay at the house tonight. Can you and Gabe work some magic and get him out of there?”
Cat laughs. “Oh yes. Two siblings against one always wins. Even against Reid Maxwell himself.”
“I know you can do it,” I say, and hurry forward.
I find my father in a chair in the store. He quickly stands up when he sees me. “How did you know I was here?”
“Your future husband told me. We shared coffee and talked. And I met the furry kids, as Reid called them.”
I smile. “I love that he called them that.”
“He was very human.”
“Very human?”
“He’s a beast in war and business. Today I finally saw him as a real person. The person marrying my daughter.” He wraps his arm around me. “Do brides eat? I hear there is starvation before weddings or that is what Stella told me.”
“Salads and water and is Stella here?”
“She is, but she thought we needed some private time.”
And so we do. We share lunch and talk for two solid hours about his new life and mine. For the first time in longer than I’d realized, I feel connected to my father. In my heart, I want this for Reid with his father, but I know that’s not possible.
“Reid’s father is horrible. He knows it. It hurts him and his siblings. Don’t make them him. They aren’t. You attacked their livelihood and you went at Reid personally. He’s a survivor and why would you want me with anyone who isn’t?”
“Message received. He’ll be my son even if he hates me like he does his own father, but I’ll make him like it.”
I laugh and he walks me home, leaving me for the rest of my wedding eve.
I walk into the door and Reid is there with Gabe by his side. “I’m getting him out of here,” he says. “We’ll wrestle him out if we have to.”