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)
Knox shot Jade a pleased, full-of-himself smile. “There. Done.”
“Thank you!” Holly jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He chuckled. “When Holly was younger, her indecisive nature became pretty obvious. So I’d force her to choose, and she’d always blurt out what she hadn’t been able to commit to.”
“And I was always happy,” she said.
Knox looked at Miles, who appeared a bit dumbfounded. “You’re going to have to pick up the slack on that,” he told his future brother-in-law, grinning.
Holly glanced at her fiancé. “And you liked the almond?”
“We already pulled out the ones I didn’t love. I just want you to be happy,” Miles said, getting up and pulling her into his arms. “I already took the afternoon off. Let’s go celebrate,” he added.
Aww. These were the moments that made Jade love her job.
Emmaline smiled and wished the happy couple well. Then she turned to Jade. “I have to run. I have another. See you next time. I’ll send you all the information, itemized.” She glanced at Knox. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Sinclair. Thank you for your help.”
Emmaline walked out the door, and Jade drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She braced her hands on the table and sighed. She hoped she could make it home without getting sick.
* * *
Jesus. The last two hours had felt longer than two entire days, Knox thought. He always had patience when it came to his sister, but she’d severely tested its limits today. He glanced at Jade, who’d seemed to wilt as the day went on. She’d been easygoing and kind to Holly, but from the glazed look in her eyes and her flushed cheeks, something was wrong.
Relieved they were alone, Knox walked over to where Jade stood, hands clasped on the table, head dipped low. He slid a hand beneath her hair and cupped her neck, finding the muscles stiff and unyielding. He massaged them with his fingers, pressing into her skin and moving in slow circles.
She let out a moan that went straight to his cock. “What’s wrong?”
“What isn’t?” she asked, causing his movements to still.
“Keep going. Please,” she said.
“Then talk to me.”
“Keep doing that, and I will.” She hadn’t moved and waited, head down.
He began to knead her muscles once more. “I have a migraine,” she murmured. “It started earlier, along with my anxiety. I’m pretty sure you didn’t know about that. Anyway, I’d hoped it would ease. After all, this was just cake tasting.”
“But this afternoon wasn’t very relaxing, was it?” He kneaded her neck, moving his thumbs into the base of her scalp.
“Who knew your sister could be so indecisive?” She let out a small laugh. “But it wasn’t her fault. I didn’t have any medication on me. I’ve felt good for so long, I forgot to make sure I had it when I switched bags.”
“What triggered it this time? Do you know?” he asked, moving his thumbs higher.
She hesitated.
He leaned close to her ear, inhaling the warm coconut scent of her hair and ignoring his body’s reaction, given how much pain she seemed to be in. “You can tell me.”
“You’re not going to like it,” she said.
He had to remind himself to keep up the pressure on her neck and head. “Tell me.”
“It’s Theo.”
“What?”
“Theo. He called me before I left to come here.” Her muscles stiffened as she spoke. “I’d blocked his number, so he called me at work.”
Knox stopped moving his hands and turned her to face him, doing his best to stay calm for Jade’s sake. “What did he want?”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He accused me of playing games, of deliberately staging photos to get revenge.”
That stupid son of a bitch. “What did you say?”
Her hazy eyes met his. “First, I told him that not everything was about him… And then I added that nothing I did was ever about him.”
Knox let out a chuckle. “I’d have liked to see his face. Is that all?”
Her cheeks grew a heavy shade of pink as she blushed and glanced away.
“Now I’m curious.” He lifted her chin with his hand, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
She bit down on her lower lip. “I might have told him I wasn’t having pictures taken with you to piss him off any more than I was sleeping with you to get revenge.”
He stared at her in disbelief, shocked she’d go that far. And then he started to laugh, because she’d shoved their relationship in his brother’s face, and damn if the bastard hadn’t deserved it after cheating on Jade with Knox’s wife. “You’re my kind of girl, Jade Dare.”
“You don’t care that I told him?”
“Shout it from the rooftops. It’s fine with me.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. Before she could react, he slipped his hand in hers. “Now, I’m going to take you home so you can get into bed and do whatever it is you need to in order to get rid of that migraine. Then we’ll talk some more.”