Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Standing in a group of women next to Indie, I see Kylie laughing, looking so radiant she makes my pulse pound. I want her. God, do I want her, and it’s hard to see the consequences of acting on it from here. All I see is a stunning, sweet, incredible woman who deserves to feel the things I’m struggling to keep inside.
I want to show her how desirable she is. How she undoes me with just her eyes, and the way her smile makes me ache to pull her into my arms. I don’t know how to keep breathing and pretend I’m okay when I want to put my hands on her so badly it’s all I can think about.
There’s no way I’m ending this charade tonight. If this is all I ever get with Kylie, it’s better than what I had before.
Chapter Ten
Kylie
“You two make a lovely couple.” Sophia Gleason, one of the VIPs seated at our table for dinner, beams at us. “Pax, the way you look at Kylie reminds me of when John and I were younger and wanted nothing more than to be together.”
Pax puts an arm around the back of my chair, brushing the pad of his thumb over the bare skin on my neck and sending a shiver of delight down my spine. “That’s exactly how I feel. As long as she’s next to me, I’m right where I want to be.”
The warmth and intensity in his gaze cause the butterflies in my stomach to take flight. He’s so good at pretending to be crazy about me that even I’m fooled by him. It’s easy to imagine him never having trouble finding women; all he has to do is look at me and smile and I go from pragmatic to charmed in an instant.
Every player, and his date if he brought one, was assigned to a table of VIPs, and of course, Cassidy Croft managed to assign herself a seat on Pax’s other side at our table. I’m almost three glasses of champagne in and in no mood for her shit, so I’m making it clear she’s got no chance with Pax as long as I’m still standing.
I lean closer to Pax, picking up the scent of his light cologne, and rest my cheek on his shoulder for a second, saying, “I feel the same way about him.”
Sophia’s husband John looks between us with a slight smile and a nod. “After what you’ve been through, it’s great to see you happy again.”
The way he says it, like he’s known me for a long time, unsettles me, because he’s not familiar to me at all. Is it possible Pike told him about me?
“Do you mean with Eric?” I ask.
John furrows his brow. “Sorry, I meant Pax. Have you had a loss in your life, too?”
Pax? I look over at him, confused, and he smoothly moves the conversation forward.
“Kylie’s husband Eric was wounded in combat and he later passed away from his injuries,” he says. “People throw the word hero around a lot these days, but Eric truly was one.”
“Oh, honey.” Sophia’s expression turns sympathetic. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”
“Thank you,” I say softly, still wondering what John was talking about.
“John, how’s the market looking these days?” Pax asks. “My current guy is keeping all my investments low risk and I’ve been thinking about switching. I think I’m young enough to put at least a third of my money into higher-risk funds.”
John grins. “Well, I’d love to have you as a client. The market is sluggish overall, but there are always pockets of solid higher-risk investments. I can have my assistant reach out about scheduling an appointment.”
“That’d be great. I’m a big believer in supporting the businesses that support the team. I’m on the road a lot, so it might have to be a weekend or an evening.”
“Absolutely anytime,” John says.
“We’d love to have you and Kylie over for dinner,” Sophia says. “You guys could talk business in John’s office after and I could show Kylie my greenhouse.”
“You have a greenhouse?” I ask her.
“It’s my happy place. It’s attached to a little two-room cottage I had built as a library and guest quarters. I guess it’s my woman cave.”
“That sounds like a dream come true. I’d love to see it.”
Cassidy interjects. “Is someone ever coming to take our drink orders or do we have to go to the bar and get them ourselves? Who organized this event?”
If only she was as good at her job as she is at polishing off drinks. Pax told me two marketing employees, who have worked with the Saints since the team’s inception, resigned last week because of Cassidy, and many more have voiced their displeasure to others who won’t repeat it to the Crofts.
“Pax and I will go get drinks,” I offer, eager to get him alone. “What can we get you?”