Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Home… I no longer have a home.
Will I ever have a home again?
Taking one last bite of the pasta, I decide that I have to shake off this dark cloud I’ve been carrying over me. I’m not going to be able to survive, outthink, and thrive if I allow the old Lyriope to take over. I’m not a victim. I’m a motherfucking queen. I have to keep telling myself this or…
Nick Hudson taught me in our short time together that I can be extraordinary if I put my mind to it.
And I have no choice but to put my mind to it.
I consider going for a walk before heading back to my room, but the sun is ready to set, and the idea of taking what’s left of the bottle of wine to my room and sitting on my balcony overlooking the waterfall as the sun lowers sounds heavenly. I’ll leave exploring the town and the area for tomorrow. I haven’t even seen the property yet other than my room and the dining room. But for now… I’ll start with the sunset over the river.
The room is chilly when I enter, and the dampness in the air sends a shiver down my spine. The glass doors to the balcony are open allowing the brisk air to blow the white curtains all around. Deciding to put the bottle of wine and glass outside before I go find a sweatshirt, I head straight to my ultimate destination.
I freeze the minute I reach the threshold.
I blink away my madness, telling myself it’s exhaustion causing hallucinations.
It can’t be real. He can’t be real.
“I’m ashamed of you,” Nick says as he leans back in the chair, his feet propped up on the table I was going to use to place the wine on. “I expected your game of hide-and-seek to be far more challenging. At least make me work for it a bit.”
The bottle of wine begins to slip from my hands, but Nick is quick to jump out of his seat, reach out and save it from its demise. He then takes the glass from me as well and fills it with wine.
“Thank you. I don’t mind if I do,” he says, bringing the full glass to his lips. His eyes lock with mine as he takes a seat again.
I can’t speak. I can’t move. I’m frozen in disbelief that he’s actually sitting a foot away from me.
“Aren’t you going to ask how I found you?” He gives one of his sinful smiles before he takes a long swallow of the cabernet.
“Does it matter?” I finally manage to squeak out. “I should have assumed you’d come for me.”
“Interesting fact,” he says, taking another drink. “I got wind from one of my sources at JFK that Sasha Morelli had booked a trip to Italy. She had a direct flight to Florence.” He leans toward the table and tops off his glass with more wine. “The interesting part of this story is that I got this tidbit of information as Harrison was speaking face-to-face with Sasha.” He taps the glass with his fingertips and chuckles. “Funny. How could she be on a flight to Italy and in Bishop’s Landing at the same time?”
I can’t read him no matter how hard I try. I can’t tell if he’s angry—
But of course he’s angry. He doesn’t show it at all. Nick Hudson is a master at hiding his emotions with that smile of his.
I ready myself for the fury that is about to be unleashed on me as he stands up and closes the distance between us.
“I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye. I just felt—”
His laugh cuts through my poor excuse of an apology and every ounce of bravado I can muster.
“I’m intrigued by you,” he says. “I can’t decide if you are extremely intelligent, or extremely stupid.”
His words feel like a slap to the face. His harshness and coldness breaks my heart because I never intended for any of this. If I could turn back time… But my pride also emerges, and my anger from being insulted simmers to the surface. I stiffen my spine and decide to speak my thoughts rather than squash them. “I feel the same about you. Intrigued.” I tilt my head, knowingly taunting. “Intelligent or stupid? You made it easy for me. I simply walked out the door.”
I have no idea why I’m rattling the cage of the beast. Why would I provoke this man? Why would I play with the devil when he’s only a few inches away from me?
He laughs again. “I’ll give you that, my dear. I was quite foolish in believing you wouldn’t try to escape. I was the fool, and I’m man enough to admit it.”
Something shifts—for the briefest of moments—in his demeanor. A flicker of sadness? A dash of pain in his eyes?