Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 163475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 654(@250wpm)___ 545(@300wpm)
I glance up at my sister. “You have got to be kidding, I have no interest in Marina, whatsoever.”
“Sebastian,” Violet exhales. “You have no interest in anybody anymore.”
“Yes so? I like it that way.” I pass her the coffee cup.
“Thanks.” She watches me intently.
I roll my eyes. “What?”
“When are you going to let yourself be happy?” She asks.
“I am happy. What are you talking about?”
“I mean really happy, you know… a family of your own, wife and kids.”
“That’s not in my future.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve been there and done the whole marriage thing. It’s not somewhere I want to return to.”
“Seb,” she sighs. “Helena was just a bad egg. It wouldn’t have mattered who she married, she would have done the same to them. And that other woman… the—”
“April,” I cut her off before she says it.
Her eyes hold mine for a moment. “I’m just saying… you can’t spend the rest of your life living in the past.”
“I’m not. I just don’t have the same expectations that I used to.”
“Are you really going to live in this huge house alone?”
“I’m perfectly happy as I am.” I glance over at the golden Labrador sprawled out in front of the fire. “And I don’t live alone. I live with Bentley.” I smirk against my coffee cup.
“Why aren’t you dating?” I ask, deflecting.
“I have a date on Saturday night, actually.”
“You do?”
“Uh-huh.” She smiles.
“Who with?”
“You don’t know him.” Her response comes too quickly.
I stare at her for a moment. “You know, Vi, I’ve come to understand the patterns of when someone is lying to me.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Are you lying to me?”
She smirks.
“So… I do know him.”
“I just don’t want to jinx it.” She smiles.
I frown. “Do I like him?”
“Have you ever liked a boyfriend of mine?”
I smirk, knowing she’s got me. “No.”
“So, can I set you up with Marina?”
“Definitely not.”
We fall silent for a while. I love my sister. She’s single like I am, and with Brandon living on the other side of the country with his new wife, she gets lonely sometimes. We eat dinner together a few nights throughout the week. She’s become my rock.
“I saw her,” I find myself admitting.
“Who?”
“April.”
She frowns as she listens. “Where?”
“Last week, the Art Museum at a charity auction.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“You could say that.” I sip my coffee. “We fought in a cloakroom.”
“Of course, you did.” She smirks. “How is she?”
“Still beautiful.”
Violet blows into her coffee. “And totally wrong for you, Sebastian. Get that out of your head right now.”
“It doesn’t matter, anyway.” I shrug casually. “She was with someone else. Maybe a boyfriend. She didn’t have a wedding ring on, though.”
“You looked at her hand?” She says dryly.
I twist my lips, unwilling to admit to it out loud again, but hating that I did.
“Was he there with her?” she asks. “Her boyfriend or whatever he is?”
“Yes, he’s a football player. Pretty good one, from what I hear. He’s a Man United player.” I think for a moment, “Maybe Arsenal, I don’t know what club.”
“Good. I hope she marries him tomorrow and stays the hell away from you.”
I smile at my overprotective sister, and I let myself sink back into thought— something I’ve been doing a lot of lately.
The wrath of reflection. I drift back to all those years ago, and how it felt to be in her arms. For a while, it was perfect.
My stomach twists when I remember how badly it ended.
I have many regrets in my life. That week, that night, and the months that followed. They’re all up there with the biggest.
April
We ride to the top floor in the elevator with my nerves at an all-time high. I glance at my reflection in the mirrored doors. I’m wearing black high heels, a black pencil skirt, and a matching jacket with a cream silk blouse and sheer black stockings. My blond bob is hanging in loose curls, and my makeup is minimal.
It’s my first day on the road with Bart McIntyre, and I have to admit that this shit is scary. We have Jeremy with us who is Mr. McIntyre’s personal assistant who travels everywhere with him.
I glance over at Jeremy standing beside the door. He would have to be in his early thirties. He’s a very good-looking man in a perfectly fitting suit. He has chocolate brown hair and big green eyes. He’s apparently been Bart’s PA for six years. He’s very friendly, too. I haven’t quiet worked out the dynamics between the two of them yet. I think they might be together as they seem very familiar. But maybe that’s just what you get for working together for so long, and my mind is just depraved. I mean, just because he’s his PA, that doesn’t mean that they’re fucking.
Or maybe my gut feeling is right and it means they totally are, I guess time will tell me whether I’m right or wrong.