Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
She looked up at him, through thick lashes and tear-stained makeup. “You’d do that? Fly to the Bahamas at the last minute? We barely know each other. Of course, there was that kiss…” Her cheeks turned pink at the mention of their shared memory.
“There was,” he said, wanting her to know he recalled it as well. “But to answer your question, yes, I’d do that for you.”
“Then I’d really appreciate it… but can I ask why?”
He let out a pained sigh. “I have a sister and if my friend found Fallon in the same position I discovered you in, I’d hope they’d do the same thing and make sure she was okay.”
And keep their hands off his vulnerable sister. Dex would also punch his well-meaning friend once he saw him again just in case he’d had the same wayward thoughts Dex now had about Samantha. And he expected no less of Ian Dare.
But even though Dex would never take advantage of a vulnerable woman, he couldn’t deny he’d always wanted a chance with Samantha. That chance just wouldn’t be now.
Chapter Three
Dex suggested stopping by his apartment so he could throw a few things into a suitcase for the trip. Since he was doing her a huge solid by accompanying her, she didn’t argue about her need to rush out of town.
His place looked new. It lacked personal touches and some obvious pieces of furniture, and smelled like fresh paint. When she asked, he said he’d just recently moved in and was still furnishing it how he liked.
He directed her to a guestroom where she’d changed into a pair of loose silky pants and a tank top, appropriate for Bahamian weather. She pulled a sweater over her shoulders for the cooler plane ride and left her wedding dress in a heap on his carpeted floor. She never wanted to see the garment again. Being an easygoing guy, Dex hadn’t seemed to mind.
Now, on board and in the air, she curled her legs beneath her and looked out the plane window and into the white fluffy clouds. Darkness was falling and seemed apropos considering the mess that was her life.
This morning she’d thought she was getting married and headed to Turks and Caicos on her honeymoon. Now she was in her cousin’s plane with a man she’d had a crush on since she’d first seen him on the television screen when watching the Thunder play on Sundays. Then she’d met Dex Sterling in person.
At her brother’s New Year’s Eve party for his team and their families, she and Dex had shared a long evening of conversation and then a kiss that had ruined her for all other men. Nobody could compete with Dex and the way he’d completely possessed her. With one arm around her waist holding her tight, she’d felt his physical strength against her much smaller frame. And with his talented mouth, he devoured her until her entire body was aroused, even parts she’d never been aware of before.
But no sooner had their lips separated than he’d turned into a different person. Where before the kiss, they’d talked about so many things, after it was like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. She’d taken it as a harsh lesson to her younger self’s ego and chalked the incident up to a football player who’d had his New Year’s Eve fun and wasn’t looking for anything more than a little flirting. Either that, or he thought she was a really bad kisser. But he definitely didn’t act like he wasn’t enjoying her kiss at the time.
Had she been disappointed things hadn’t gone further? Absolutely, because if he’d asked her to go home with him, she’d have said yes in a heartbeat. So she’d taken her bruised self-esteem and gone home to eat a carton of cookie dough ice cream and fall asleep alone. It looked like she’d be doing the same thing tonight, if Maggie, Asher’s longtime family housekeeper, kept a flavor Samantha liked in the fridge. Because she was going to need it.
All the while, Dex seemed to understand her need for silence and had left her to her thoughts, while he remained busy with text messages on his phone. Both of their cells hadn’t stopped blowing up. Hers with texts from concerned family, friends, and worse, Jeremy, trying to get in touch with her. She frowned at the thought. Not wanting to see his name, she turned her phone off and buried it at the bottom of her bag.
Poor Dex had gotten a phone call from her brother, no doubt, because Samantha wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. He’d shot her a pointed look, eyes narrowed, that she interpreted as, thanks for getting me into this mess, and rose to take the call in private. She wouldn’t avoid Ian forever, just long enough to formulate a reasonable explanation and to fortify herself for the admissions she’d have to give him.