Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
And Jamie was standing at the port windows, looking out at the city, holding, not a flute of champagne, but an old-fashioned glass filled with what I knew was his preferred bourbon and branch, rocks.
He was wearing a white button down, untucked, and gray-blue casual trousers, and even in such casual wear, he looked resplendent.
However, only Jamie was in there.
Were the others in their cabins?
My first inclination was to return to the girls and request directions to my own cabin in order to do some freshening up I did not need to do.
This changed when Jamie sensed me standing there, and he turned to look at me.
Upon seeing me, his mouth tightened.
So that was how it was going to be.
At witnessing his response, my mind made itself up, and I moved to the opened door to the lounge and sauntered through.
“Jamie,” I greeted frostily.
“Nora,” he returned stonily. His gaze moved over me. “Nice frock.”
That blow was so low, I wanted to throw my charming, woven leather clutch at him.
This was because, when we were what we’d been, he’d tease me relentlessly about my extreme reverence of fashion, intermingling this with my devotion to shopping.
I didn’t reply to his comment.
I noted, “I was told there’s champagne?”
“I’ll pour you a glass,” he murmured, ever the gentleman (damn him), and beginning to turn toward the bar.
“As you know, Jamie, I’m perfectly capable of pouring my own champagne.”
He stopped dead, scowled at me, but inclined his head.
I tossed my bag on one of the couches and moved to the bar, on which was an opened bottle of champagne, chilling in a bucket, curiously with only two flutes sitting beside it.
I was finishing my chore, wondering where in the hell everyone was, when Jamie made his approach.
“We should take this opportunity of being alone to come to some sort of truce for the sake of this holiday,” he stated.
“Rest assured, I’ll act in a civilized manner.”
His face assumed a disbelieving expression before he returned, “Nora, I know you, so I can not rest in that assurance.”
I felt my eyes widen. “I beg your pardon.”
“You’re all about drama.”
He was correct, I was, when drama was appropriate, that being when it was fun or made a point.
He was very incorrect when that drama might negatively affect people I loved.
And he damn well knew that.
I took a sip of champagne, regarding him around my flute, fashioning my retort.
When I’d swallowed, I rejoined, “It wasn’t me sulking the last week after this trip was decided instead of extending an olive branch so we could navigate this holiday without issue.”
“I’m sorry, did I miss a phone call? A text?” he asked.
I put my hand lightly to my chest in genuine affront. “You think I should have been the one to make the first overture?”
“I think you aren’t in a position to throw that in my face when you didn’t do what you accuse me of not doing.”
“Because it wasn’t my place,” I shot back.
Blue fire lit in his eyes, but he pulled a sharp breath into his nose to gain control, and he said carefully, “I understand where your hurtful words came from.”
Oh no.
We were not discussing that.
We were absolutely not discussing how I’d revealed how deep my feelings ran for him after that kiss, and he hadn’t missed it.
I didn’t get the chance to inform him of that fact.
He continued, “What I find upsetting is that you don’t seem to understand where I was in that moment.”
My God.
How had I missed he was this self-involved?
I was such a fool. He was a man. It should have been a given.
“Believe me, Jamie, I could not escape where you were at…for decades. Even if I had tried.”
More blue fire before he struggled for control and unsurprisingly (this was Jamie Oakley) succeeded.
“So it’s to be exchanging barbs and avoidance for the next week?” he inquired on a sigh.
With studied nonchalance, I took another sip of champagne before replying, “I’m game if you are.”
He shook his head with disgust. “I can’t even begin to comprehend how I managed to overlook how utterly immature you are, especially since it was right up in my face the entirety of our friendship.”
“Well, we share something in common, considering I managed to overlook how self-absorbed, and I’ll add, entirely clueless you are.”
He got closer and his anger rose palpably nearer to the surface before he growled, “You’re the first woman I kissed after my wife died.”
You’re the only man I truly loved in my entire life, and you managed to overlook that as well, even if it, too, was right up in your face the entirety of our friendship, I did not say.
“This is not news,” I hissed.
“And you have no empathy for where my heart and head were in that moment?”
“There was another person there in that moment, Jamie, and I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that other person was me.”