Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
He’s smiling so wide, and part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and beg him to have his way with me right here.
“I love them, but you should probably stop doing that.”
“No.”
“No?” I say, repeating his words.
“I’m not going to stop. I like sending you flowers.”
I smile. “Hydrangeas are my favorite, but the pink roses are a very close second.”
“So bigger is better?” he teases.
“It has nothing to do with the size of the arrangement. Hydrangeas remind me of home. Where I lived with my parents before Dad died.”
Charles doesn’t say anything for a while. He just stands there, watching me.
“Will you tell me more about him?”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “One day soon, I’ll tell you all about him. But right now, I’ll keep up the mystery.”
“I’d like to know all your secrets.”
“I bet you would. What about you, mister? Do you have skeletons in your closet?”
“That is definitely a conversation for another time.” He sighs. “Can we pretend it’s just us? Maybe have a go again on my desk?”
I grin. “No chance. We’ve been in here alone for too long as it is. This office has ears, according to Shelby.”
His eyes widen. “This I must hear.”
I might be messing around with Charles, but I’m not about to narc on Shelby. She’s been too good to me, and she seems to be good for him, too. Cavendish Group needs her.
“That’s all she said. Not sure what she meant by that.” I look into his blue eyes and say the first thing that comes to me. “I missed you, too.”
He smiles. “I believe a proper hello is in order, Rae.”
“I thought that’s what just happened.” I motion back and forth between us, and he grins.
“I have more in mind, love. More like Italy. Things that can’t happen here.”
I blink, thinking about all the things he could be talking about, and heat crawls up my neck.
“Have dinner with me tonight?” he says, and the reply is almost immediate.
“I’m hungry.” I shrug as though it’s no big thing. “I could eat.”
He smirks. “I’m paying.”
“Of course, you’re paying. You asked first. That’s how the rule works.” I wink to show I’m only teasing.
I don’t need him to pay. It’s not about that.
“Will we be leaving straight from here?” I ask, quickly looking down to survey what I chose to wear today.
“If that’s all right?”
“Fine by me. I’ll head back to my office and finish up my stuff.” I turn to open the door, and he pulls me in for a searing kiss.
“I’ll swing by your office around five.”
“Perfect.”
The rest of the day flies by, and before long, Charles and I are seated at a table in an exclusive club for the New York elite.
I’ve heard of Zero Bond and always wondered what it would be like, and now I’m here. With Charles. It’s surreal.
I take a sip of my cosmopolitan, recognizing that the top shelf really does make a difference.
“The high resolution prints of the Italy photographs came in. The backdrops turned out stunning. I’m in awe of your skills.”
He smirks. “My skills are quite legendary. I aim to satisfy, love.”
“Love, is it?” a voice full of sugar and venom says.
I don’t miss how Charles stiffens, face darkening to something sinister.
My head pops up to see a beautiful woman dressed to the nines in a red Gucci dress from this season. It’s ostentatious and obscenely expensive.
Who is she? And why is she looking at Charles like she is very well-acquainted with every piece of him?
I already hate her.
33
Charles
“Tabitha,” I whisper, not wanting to summon the demon if this is some twisted nightmare.
“Charles,” she coos. “Imagine running into you here. I had no idea this was your locale of choice these days.”
Bloody cow. She knows damn well where I frequent, and it’s no coincidence that she’s here.
“Tabitha, you and I both know that is utter bullshit. You’re a bloody stalker.”
She throws her head back and laughs like a maniacal villain. “You’re always so dramatic, darling.”
She speaks loud enough that everyone in the vicinity has turned to stare.
“Tabitha, keep your voice down.” I turn to Raven. “Do you mind if I talk to Tabitha alone?”
“Of course not,” she says, but her narrowed gaze and stiff posture tell me she’ll have many questions when we’re alone.
I want to strangle the bitch. It’s not enough that she played me for an utter fool, but she has to continue to cause problems.
Tabitha walks out the front door, allowing it to slam in my face.
I’ve never so much as raised a hand to a woman, and I’m not about to start now, but Tabitha Murphy could tempt God.
“I see you’ve downgraded. What a joke you’ve turned into,” Tabitha hisses.
I look at her and wonder, not for the first time, what on earth I had seen in her.