Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“Okay, that’s your choice, but love can—”
“It’s not love.” A sardonic laugh bubbles from me. What Paul and I had was so far from love. “Sorry. It’s, ah, well. Never mind.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Thank you for all you did. I’m really sorry I wasted anyone's time.”
“You didn’t waste my time. I enjoyed our time together.”
I did too.
“Thanks,” I say again before I go to leave, but Chloe snags my hand.
“You can always call me.”
A rush of emotions fills me, and tears sting my eyes. I know she’s telling the truth because Chloe is the kind of person that would try to help anyone. But this isn’t her mess. It's become mine now, so it’s on my shoulders to handle it. I try to smile at her before I slip free and return to the front of the house.
“I’m guessing you need a lift?” Luke says when I see everyone is still standing in the entryway.
“I was going to call a ride.” Paul drove me here, so I don’t have a car. When I pull my phone out of my purse, Luke stops me.
“I’ll take you,” he insists before his hand goes to my back and he moves me along.
“No, it’s fine,” I try to protest, but he’s not having it. “Seriously I can—”
My words are cut off when those icy blue eyes meet mine. Right then I know without a doubt that Luke is taking me home, and there’s no use arguing.
He’s a man that always gets what he wants. But don’t they all?
Chapter Two
LUKE
When I reach down to grab the passenger door handle, Kelly does it at the same time. Our hands touch briefly before she quickly jerks hers away.
“Sorry,” she mumbles but doesn’t look at me.
“Stop apologizing.” I stand there, still not opening the door because I want her to look at me. No, I need her to do it.
“What?” She blinks in my direction as her expression changes to concern.
“I think you’ve done enough of that for one day.” I wait a heartbeat and finally, finally she turns those soft brown eyes to mine. It hits me like a release and, fuck, it’s almost as good as cumming.
She doesn’t say anything as I open her door and wait for her to get in. The car is quiet after I get in and drive away from Bruce’s house. It’s not until I hand her my phone that she talks to me.
“What’s this for?”
“Put in your address.”
“Oh.” She hesitates and glances at the screen. “It’s locked.”
“Six, six, four, four, zero, zero.”
“You shouldn’t give out your password,” she says as she keys it in.
“I don’t.” It’s true. I run one of the best security firms in the city, and I know the dangers of giving people access to my information. But something tells me Kelly is someone I can trust.
I’ve always been someone who trusted their gut, and when I saw her standing there in Bruce’s office, something triggered inside me. Then she asked about the wedding and I got the sense she wasn’t sad. In fact, it felt like she was worried. The more I watched her, the more I got the feeling that she was already making plans. For what, I have no idea, but it’s like I could almost see the gears in her mind churning.
“Here.”
When she hands me the phone and I look at the address, I have to do a double-take. “You live in Drayton?” I glance at her and she nods before folding her hands in her lap. “That’s not a safe part of town for a woman to live on her own.”
“I don’t live on my own.” She looks out the window, and I bet if I stopped asking her questions she wouldn’t say another word to me. Too bad for her, I’ve got no plans to stop now.
“Who do you live with?”
“My father.”
“Will he be disappointed about the wedding?”
“Yes.” She says it like it’s an end to a long sentence, and I see her shoulders slump a fraction.
“Are you?”
She looks over at me, and I see her pulling back some of that resolve she had earlier. “Of course.”
“Liar.”
Her eyes narrow, and I see a little fire in them. I like it.
“I’m not lying.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm what?” Now she’s defensive, and I can’t help the corner of my mouth turning up.
“Let me rephrase. Are you disappointed you’re not marrying Paul?”
“Oh.” She blinks a few times but recovers quickly. “Of course.”
When I stop at the red light, I turn my head and lean closer to her. Her eyes widen as she looks at my mouth, and I grin. “Liar,” I whisper, and she presses her lips together in a thin line.
After a second, she straightens her spine and looks out the window. “You don’t know me.”
“I know how to read people.” When the light changes, I keep driving, but I’m in no hurry to get her home. “What do you do for work?”