Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Yes way.”
The server returns with her champagne, and my sister snags it from him before he can place it on the table. After downing it, she hands the glass back to the server. “One more, please.”
The server nods and turns away without a word.
“Savannah,” Rose says, testing the syllables on her tongue. “That Savannah is your Savvy?”
“She’s not my anything.” I drop my gaze back to the table. I can’t handle the pity that’s creeping into my sister’s eyes. I think I preferred when she was rambling and I couldn’t get a word in.
“Oliver!” she snaps. She sounds like a grumpy mother reprimanding her toddler.
“It’s been eight years.”
“But you never got over her. Wait. Did she know you and Alec were brothers? Jesus. That’s fucked up. Do you think she was trying to get back at you for up and leaving her? I told you it was a dick move.”
“First of all, she walked out on me. Secondly, she . . .” I drag a hand over my face. That fucking ring. And the way she looked at me. Like I’d just destroyed everything. Like what I asked her to do eight years ago had destroyed her chance at happiness.
Happiness with Alec.
“You’re killing me, Oliver,” Rose says, leaning forward. “Use your words.”
I blow out a breath. “I knew she was seeing him. She showed up at the house a couple years ago, and when I answered the door, we were both a little rocked. At first, I thought she was there for me.” I shake my head, the shock and embarrassment of the day flooding back. “Which makes no sense, but neither did her showing up, ready to seduce my fucking brother.”
“Oh, damn.” Rose leans back in her chair, and the server reappears with a fresh glass of bubbles. “I think we’re gonna need a bottle,” she says.
I arch a brow. “Shouldn’t I be the one drinking my feelings right now?”
She turns up her palms. “By all means, join me, but this is a lot to process. The woman you fell head over heels for in grad school is the same one who is marrying Alec.” She inhales sharply. “Shit. Does Alec know you two have a history?”
I study my coffee. “He does now.”
“What does that mean?”
I don’t look up.
“Oliver Rhett, you fucking drama queen. Did you see them together this morning and decide that was the moment to make sure Alec knew what was going on?”
I lift my head, and the disappointment in her expression fades, replaced with pity. I have no doubt that the turmoil tightening everything in my chest is reflected in my eyes. “I didn’t realize they were serious,” I rasp. “After that day she showed up, I figured she cut ties with him rather than risk seeing me again.”
Rose nods. “Because she still has feelings for you.”
“Because she hates me. And I don’t blame her for that.” I swallow. No matter how hard I try, I can’t forget that voicemail she left me weeks before she showed up at Alec’s door. Her words were slightly slurred, like she’d been drinking. I’m over you, Oliver. I’ve met someone, and I’m moving on. I hope I never see you again.
“But she didn’t cut ties. And now they’re engaged.”
My gut twists. Once upon a time, I let myself imagine what it would be like to put a ring on Savvy’s finger. To plan a life with her. But I knew she deserved better than me, and then everything fell apart before she could make a choice she’d regret for the rest of her life. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, you start by apologizing for your asshat behavior, and then you tell her you still love her.”
I blink at my sister. “Aren’t you the one who just sat there crowing about how great it was that she was marrying Alec?”
“Obviously that was before I had all the information,” she says.
“How many Savvys do you know? It didn’t even cross your mind?”
She cocks her head to the side. “What are the chances that the woman you fell for in Pennsylvania eight years ago would be the same woman Alec fell into insta-love with in Vegas? Why would that cross my mind?”
“I wondered at first if he knew about our history. If this was all some effort to show me up.”
“But you know better now? You underestimate Alec. He’s not our father.”
“I know, and he’s shit at hiding his feelings,” I say. “He couldn’t have faked his reaction this morning.”
The server returns with an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne and two fresh glasses. Rose beams at him as he settles it beside the table.
“We’ll need a few minutes before we order food,” she says. “Thanks so much.”
Once he steps away again, she turns her attention back to me. “So if you aren’t planning to grovel, what are you going to do?”