Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
26.
Charli
I was wedged between my aunt and uncle as we entered the bustling restaurant.
My eyes instinctively scanned the room for Rhys, but I couldn’t see him. Lots of glamorous, well-dressed people mingled, sipping glasses of wine and Prosecco and nibbling hors d’oeuvres.
As far as I could make out, Aidan’s restaurant served some variety of contemporary cuisine with an Irish flair. The man himself stood close to the stylish bar area. He wore a fitted, pale grey suit and was surrounded by a few members of the press who were there to review the opening. He’d changed since he was a teenager, presently sporting a trim beard and a full head of auburn hair with a hint of grey at the temples. Aidan looked like a man who’d seen the world, with a certain wisdom in his eyes that hadn’t been there once upon a time.
A server led a group past us to be seated at a large table, and I felt a tinge of pressure in my chest being surrounded by so many people. That pressure built into an anxious pounding in my skull as I hastily turned to my aunt, “I’m just going to find the restroom.”
“Of course,” she replied, and I quickly went, struggling to breathe.
It was only when I shut myself inside a stall and slid over the lock that my head cleared and my pulse finally started to slow. Ironic that I felt more claustrophobic out there than I did locked away in a tiny bathroom stall. But in the stall, I was alone. No one could harm me within the protective confines of its walls.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been sitting on the closed toilet seat with my eyes shut, taking deep breaths, when my phone vibrated in my purse, startling me.
Rhys: Just arrived. You here yet?
Seeing his text made me relax a little. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I’d told him he was my security blanket. There was just something about Rhys that always managed to soothe me. It was like I could absorb his calm confidence.
Me: Yes. I’m in the restroom.
Rhys: Everything okay?
I considered telling him I was having a minor meltdown but decided against it. I’d already revealed far more to Rhys than I ever intended. When he looked into my eyes in that probing, concerned way he had, it was almost impossible not to spill my guts, which was how he currently knew some of the details about my marriage. I still bristled remembering all I’d told him, feeling exposed, but I reminded myself I could be open with Rhys. I doubted there was much I could ever reveal to him that would make him judge me. It wasn’t in his nature.
Me: I’m fine. I’ll just be a minute.
Finally emerging from the stall, I washed my hands then made for the exit. Rhys stood outside, his back to the wall as he looked down at his phone. I paused in the doorway, admiring the way his dark brows lined his forehead, how the black shirt he wore brought out the blue of his eyes. He was sexy—handsome in a way that was detrimental to my emotional state. I imagined throwing caution to the wind—paying no heed to how we’d both just emerged from long-term relationships—and simply losing myself in him. I’d wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him until his taste chased away my nightmares.
At least then I could experience a little happiness even if only temporary.
Stepping out, my heels clicked on the tile floor, and Rhys’ gaze flicked up. Running my hands over my dark blue dress, I moved towards him, heart pounding for a different reason entirely.
The dress was a couple years old, but I’d never actually worn it out. I’d bought it thinking I looked good in it, but then when I’d tried wearing it to one of Jesse’s work functions, he’d immediately told me to find something else. He said it was far too low cut to be deemed appropriate in front of his colleagues from the law practice. Instead, I’d grabbed one of the many conservative dresses he’d preferred and worn that.
I was never going back to that place, would never allow another person to dictate what I could and couldn’t wear. Tonight and every night going forward, I’d wear what I wanted to. The dress signified that choice, and wearing it gave me back my power. It felt liberating.
“Charli,” Rhys said, eyes scanning me as he shoved his phone in his pocket and ran a hand down his face, his mouth opening a little. “Fucking hell.”
I chuckled at his reaction. “Is that a good fucking hell or a bad one?”
“It’s a good one. A very good one. You look incredible.”
A deep flush of pleasure settled over me at his compliment. I’d been fretting about wearing the dress, but his reaction made all my doubt slip away. It showed a hint of cleavage, but it wasn’t the slutty, revealing number Jesse had made it out to be. No, the dress was classy and perfect, and I was reclaiming it, Goddammit.