Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
She pulled the spoon back, removing it from between his lips. “Good?” she asked.
“Delicious.” His body vibrated with need, and it wasn’t for more dessert. The woman sitting beside him made his mouth water.
“Oops.” She reached out and swept her delicate finger over his bottom lip, removing some vanilla ice cream before he could dart his tongue out for a lick. “Ice cream,” she said in a husky voice.
“Want to tell me about the idiots who let you slip through their fingers?” he asked.
She smiled. “Well, winner number one was a guy I met at Starbucks. I was rushing to a meeting. I bumped into him and spilled my coffee on his suit. The barista didn’t put the top on right.” She shrugged. “I apologized and insisted on taking his number so I could pay for the dry-cleaning. We went on a few dates. In the beginning, he said he wasn’t interested in anything serious, but later claimed he couldn’t help but fall for me. Unfortunately, what he’d fallen for was my family name and money.” She let out a sad sigh that broke his heart.
“Asshole. How’d you find out?” he asked, wondering if he could find the bastard and break a bone or two.
“My brother Zach. He realized what was going on and approached my fiancé behind my back with a prenup in hand. Douglas, that’s his name, refused to sign. In fact, he laughed in Zach’s face and bragged that he had me wrapped up so tight I’d do anything for him. Zach broke his nose and told me the truth. I thought I loved him, when the truth was, I never knew him at all.”
Knox covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to be wanted only for money and not for myself.”
She nodded. “Thanks for admitting that.”
“Did Zach really break his nose?” he asked.
She laughed and nodded. “He said nobody fucks with his family.”
Knox wasn’t surprised. He’d have done the same thing if Holly had ever been in a similar situation.
“No trouble for Zach afterwards?” Knox asked.
She shook her head. “Nope. Douglas was too afraid of Zach to even meet with me so I could return the ring.” She shrugged. “So I sold it and invested the money.”
“Smart.” He picked up his water and took a long sip.
“What about you? Did you get your ring back?” she asked.
He coughed as the drink went down wrong.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to pry, but since I answered your personal questions, I figured you owed me some answers in return.” Her lips twitched, lifting in a naughty grin.
Knox liked this girl’s sass. He cleared his throat and waited until he was certain he could talk without choking. “Fair point,” he said at last. “Okay, here goes. Celia kept her rings and I’m sure she sold them, too. But it’s not the same situation. Celia cheated on me.” Bitterness rose, along with the memories.
“With your stepbrother.” Jade’s expression turned sad. “Which brings up another question, since we’re being so honest and everything.”
“Go ahead.”
She pushed the melting dessert aside. “Theo could have cheated on me with anyone. I mean, he probably did. But why did he choose your wife? That was the one thing I could never understand. You two were supposed to be family. Look how close you are with Holly.”
“Theo can be charming—I’m sure that’s the man you first met.” Knox paused, gathering his thoughts. “But deep down, he’s an insecure little boy.” He leaned his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. He’d given this question a lot of thought. “From the day Theo’s mother married my father and they moved into our house, Theo was jealous of me. If something didn’t come easily, he looked for someone else to blame. Very often, he chose me. That was ironic because sports were more his thing than mine, at least back then.”
Jade blotted those sexy lips with her napkin and placed it on the table. “I’ve seen him in action,” she murmured. “When he had a bad game, he’d blame everyone else—his teammates, the coaches… even a fan once.” She shook her head. “He always had excuses, never taking accountability for anything he did.”
“Exactly.”
She tipped her head to the side, her eyes unfocused, as if remembering. “I remember the time the coach benched him for a whole period. He’d missed a save and blamed it on the defenseman screening him so he couldn’t see the puck. Theo had been livid. Then again, so was the coach.” She cleared her throat. “It became my job to soothe his anger so he didn’t lose his position on the team.”
Knox recalled that moment. Rumors were that the owner was thinking of sending Theo down to the farm team for a while, until his attitude improved.
Theo couldn’t risk that. He’d told Knox that Jade Dare made him appear important. His engagement to her would make him look like a man willing to commit, on and off the ice, making changes the team’s management would approve of. Jade brought him respectability with her family name.