Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
My cousin rarely expressed nervousness, and I wondered if my old Eton frenemy had some sort of scheme to use my cousin to get closer to my husband. “I think you look drop-dead gorgeous,” I admitted, offering her an appreciative smile. “And if it makes your mother have a coronary, more’s the better, right?”
She waved an elegant hand as we neared the top of the stairs. “She’s already approved since it’s from an established fashion house. Had the exact same dress been designed by an up-and-comer, she would have gasped and insisted I change.”
I escorted her down the stairs where Kenji and Jamie Winthrop were standing, chatting happily. Or possibly flirting, some dark corner of my brain that had read too many scandal headlines suggested. Maybe that reporter had a point.
Knowing how irrational I was being only made my mood darker.
“You look amazing,” Kenji exclaimed, eyes only on Cora. “That dress is gorgeous.”
Jamie stared like a cartoon character with eyeballs on springs. “Shit.”
Cora let out a nervous laugh. “That bad, eh? I look like shit?”
He strode quickly forward and reached for her hand, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek and whisper something in her ear I couldn’t make out. Whatever he said must have done the trick because she smiled and returned the cheek kiss.
“Right, then,” I said quickly. “Wouldn’t want to be late to our own show.”
The next hour was a whirlwind of event-staff greetings and prep at the Royal Horseguards Hotel. The dinner itself would be held in the Gladstone Library, but the receiving line and cocktail hour were held outside of it in a different area. As we finally waited for the first actual guests to enter, Kenji stepped in front of me and reached out to fuss with my bow tie.
The upper half of his hair was pulled back neatly in a knot while the rest flowed down past his shoulders in a dark, glossy spread. His eyebrows were neatly shaped, his lips pink and full.
“You look fucking beautiful,” I said under my breath.
He glanced up before focusing on the bow tie again. “You sound upset about that,” he murmured.
“I am.”
Though he rolled his eyes, his gaze didn’t leave the tie. “I’d ask why, but since you’re avoiding conversations with me—”
“Because every man and woman in this place will get the opportunity to flirt with you, to talk to you, to dance with you without being shot down.”
His fingers spasmed, twisting my tie out of alignment.
With an epic scowl, he yanked it open and started tying it again. “I assure you, anyone looking for more than conversation will definitely be shot down.”
I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Well, they can all join the fucking club. I’m the goddamned president of it.”
His jaw ticked. “You haven’t been shot down in days,” he pointed out before glancing around and plastering on a fake smile. “In fact, if you’ll recall, I’m the one who’s been trying to talk, yet somehow, you’re always conveniently too busy.”
“Mpfh.”
Kenji finally looked up at me. There was a toxic mix of anger, hurt, and lust in his eyes. The lust part threw me for a loop. “Landry, you can hardly be mad at me for looking my best when you clearly only need me to sit still and look pretty.”
His words offended me deeply. “What the fuck?” I hissed. “When have I ever treated you like a prop?”
Kenji’s eyes flashed as he finished the tie and put his palm below it on my chest, nearly high enough to strangle me. “When someone came for me with derogatory headlines and you decided to handle it yourself instead of bothering little ole me who… makes a fucking living putting out fires. No, instead of asking for my help or getting my consent for peppering every news outlet with awkward Kenji photos, you took it upon yourself to manage the situation.”
Guests began entering the room, starting at the far end of the receiving line. I wrapped my fingers around Kenji’s wrist to pull his hand off me and lowered my voice even more. “I don’t want you to have to sort my shit for me.”
If it was possible, he looked even angrier. “Did it ever occur to you that I like—”
“Oh, there you are, Landry!” Aunt Lydia’s smile beamed as brightly as her glittering dress, but her eyes flashed a warning that she’d noticed our heated conversation. “You remember Lord Wymer, don’t you? Lord Wymer, may I present Lord Hawling and his husband, Mr. Toma? If you’ll excuse me, I see Lord Twetts over there, and I know he’s been so eager to meet my Cora.”
She melted away into the crowd, and Kenji’s face lit up in a welcoming smile as he greeted the baron and baroness.
“Lord Wymer, it’s been a long time!” I shook the man’s hand. “Lady Wymer, don’t you look lovely in blue? I believe I remember hearing you’d visited Fort McHenry when you were in the States last year, right? Well, Kenji here was actually born and raised in Maryland…”