Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
In his suit, his hair actually combed for a change, beautiful as he looked, I missed my Keeg—the unkempt guy in the hat.
The guy who had such a big fucking heart.
He turned back to me.
“You look beautiful tonight, Keegan,” I said, looking into his eyes, and his smile sparkled.
In the brief time I’d been in Fever Falls, it had been so effortless to be swept away by Keegan. Even during the times when I had to return to Parlaisa, all I wanted was to come back to Fever Falls to see him once again.
For another moment…another date…another kiss.
As I gazed into his eyes, I was as spellbound by him as ever.
I was going to have to find a way to stay in Fever Falls for a greater amount of time…or find a way for Keegan to spend more time with me.
Because I didn’t have enough of him. Far from it.
It was just the beginning for us.
We kissed—softly at first, but as usual, it turned into so much more.
I lost myself in him. And when we finally pulled away, we enjoyed dancing for one song, and then another and another. Once we took a break, we caught up with some of the other guests, noticing Steve and Casey still dancing together—all smiles—both clearly having as amazing a time as they should that night.
After more dancing and conversing, I headed to the upstairs restroom, since the lower level had a line.
On my way back downstairs, I stopped at the balcony rail, looking down into the ballroom.
Keegan stood in one corner of the room, laughing with Casey, Steve, and Serena. As Steve said something to them, Keeg ran his hand through his curly dark locks, moving his fingers through his lengthy bangs.
It was nice seeing him cutting loose, enjoying himself after all the time we’d spent prepping for this day. His gaze shifted, seeming to be pulled by some unseen force before his eyes met mine, as though he could have found me effortlessly in the most crowded of spaces. I would have had a difficult time believing he could smile much wider until he did just that. I returned his smile as he waved for me to come down and join them.
With all the talk of equal marriage and him looking so dapper, it was difficult for my mind not to wander to fantasies about…
Well, I could stop them before I got carried away.
I was enamored with him, but that thought was a long way off.
Regardless, I knew Keegan had enchanted me, cast me under some sort of spell, and what had begun as such a seemingly innocent flirtation had transformed into something so much more powerful.
“Good God,” I heard beside me, and I turned to see Lucas with two members of the royal guard, one at either side.
I must’ve been even more lost in my infatuation with Keegan than I thought, considering I hadn’t heard them coming up. My cheeks warmed. I was embarrassed at being caught in the middle of my moment. It was a good thing the lighting was dim because I was sure my cheeks were as red as Keegan’s often turned whenever he was nervous or embarrassed.
He might’ve been rubbing off on me, and why was that so appealing to me?
“Do you two mind waiting outside for a moment?” Lucas asked his guards. As they followed his instructions, he approached, sidling up beside me.
We hadn’t spoken much since he’d arrived in Fever Falls the previous morning, though we’d both had plenty of other obligations to tend to before his speech.
I braced myself for another lecture as he grasped the rail with both hands and gazed down at the crowd.
“It was a beautiful event this town managed to put together,” he said. “Charming to see so many people so enthusiastic about creating something that would go on to benefit great causes.”
“Clearly a great opportunity for good PR.”
“Do you really think I came here just for the publicity?” he asked.
“With the new poll results, it must’ve looked so good that you were finally showing such a visible display of support for my relationship with Keegan.”
“And you think that’s the only reason I came here?”
“Isn’t it?” It was impressive how, with just two words, I could manage to spit out all my contempt for my brother.
And I knew it wasn’t just about Keeg, but about so much more from our past.
“For all that I’ve been through,” I went on, “I don’t recall you ever showing any regard for anything that was going on in my life.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed like he was working to discern my meaning before he said, “And here I thought we had put the past behind us.”
“Put the past behind us? I was in rehab, and my own brother, my flesh and blood, barely came to see me. You think it was some random fluke that I went off the deep end after Mother passed away? I needed you to be there, and you—”