Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
“Audrena.” Her mom tone is out in full effect. I lift my shoulders and shrug them. I’m already trying to come up with a plan to leave this farce of a dinner. Maybe I can use the restroom and call for a hired car, or maybe Kade will be finished early, and he’ll pick me up.
“Lilian, it’s okay,” Jasper cajoles. He has no idea the hell she’ll give me later.
“Jasper.” Her voice is low and hushed. Jasper must do or say something I’m unaware of because the ramrod-straight position she was in has settled down.
“Ah son, there you are. Meet my new wife and her daughter Audrena,” my mother’s new husband states.
“What the fuck do you mean do you mean your new wife?” Kade’s voice, the voice I know so well, this can’t be him, right? I turn around because Jasper is looking over my shoulder. Apparently, no one thought it was a good idea to state this was a family affair. Meeting my mom’s husband is one thing; meeting his son? Well, that’s another thing entirely.
My eyes have got to be deceiving me.
There’s no way that’s Jasper Callahan’s son.
My stepbrother is Kade.
The man I’ve seen naked. The man who has seen me naked. The man who had his mouth, hands, and cock on me and in me. The man who I’m already falling hard and fast for. I pinch the skin between my thumb and pointer finger hard, but unfortunately, this isn’t a dream. I do the only thing a woman can do in this situation. I run.
“Excuse me. I have to use the restroom.” I have no idea where I’m going. The restroom could be behind me, to the side of me, or in the front of the restaurant. I’m quick on my feet, which is saying something. Heels are my arch nemesis. The only plus side of tonight is that I chose a platform style; otherwise, I’d fall flat on my face at the pace I’m walking. That’d really be the icing on the cake, especially since I can hear my name being called through the restaurant. This isn’t my fault. Never in a million years did I think a plot out of a movie would play out in real life. I know down to my core the second my mother finds out the truth, this is only going to go from bad to worse.
Too bad the only man I ever felt a semblance of love with is turning out to be the one man I can’t have. Damn, life really isn’t fair.
9 Kade
“Drena,” I call her name, but she’s already booking it. I look from my dad to her mom, shake my head, and go after her. Fuck whatever it is they have to say. It’s not on my list of priorities to deal with two grown adults acting like they didn’t shake the ground Drena walks on. It’s clear she and Lilian have a decent relationship. I mean, she answers her calls and texts. Unlike myself. The only reason I responded to my own father's phone call was to make sure he didn’t go around jacking shit up in my life again. I don’t know her mother, since I only met her moments ago. What I can tell is that Drena doesn’t like to be blindsided, and that’s exactly what Jasper and Lilian did.
“Her name is Audrena,” one of them says behind me. I’d turn around and spout that she prefers to be called Drena and doesn’t like anything formal, along with a slew of other subjects neither one of them seem to know or care about. Except I wouldn’t be able to go after her, and she’s all that fucking matters. Drena is scurrying in between tables. It’s obvious she has no idea where she’s going, nor does she care. My eyes are locked on her back, watching as her dress keeps sliding up her thighs, and if she’s not careful, she’ll be giving the people looking at her a show. A bob and weave, and I see she’s slowing down, which is perfect for what I have in mind.
“Excuse me, pardon me,” I tell a waitress, barely missing her and the tray above her head. Christ, what a damn clusterfuck this is turning out to be. I finally gain on Drena. For someone so much smaller than me, the woman sure can move. Which is saying something given my time in the military. We’re taught to be fast on our feet. Yet the fiery woman who has me rushing after her is moving faster than I care to admit. Fuck, you’d have never seen me chasing a woman, not ever.
Drena is different.
She’s the best part of my days and nights.
She makes me want to be a better man.
She makes me realize there’s more to life than waking up, working, eating, sleeping, and repeating the process.