Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“I need you to meet Tabby. I wasn’t lying, Macy. She’s important to me and so are you. I want you to meet her.”
She stares at me for a few minutes and finally nods.
“Where is she?”
“She’ll be in bed,” I tell her, leading her up the grand staircase that leads to my sister’s room.
“But it’s not even six o’clock.” Macy frowns. “How old is she?”
“She’ll be awake, but they refuse to let her make noise or come out of her room while Delia is having one of her parties,” I mutter, anger bleeding through my words.
“One of her parties? How often does she have parties?”
“At least once a week,” I reply, feeling better not being around them. I make my way to Tabby’s room, giving it a knock before opening the door and smiling immediately when Tabby comes running to me, nearly taking me to the floor.
“Braden! I knew you’d come see me. I knew it!” she exclaims, wrapping her body tight around me. I pick her up, smelling the sweet strawberry scent of her hair and finally relaxing. When I look up it’s to find Macy staring at both of us, her face soft, the tension that was there earlier gone.
“Tabby, I’d like for you to meet my girlfriend, Macy.”
“Your girlfriend?” Tabby and Macy question at the same time. I just keep smiling, my gaze never leaving Macy’s face.
I lean over and kiss her forehead, Tabby still in my arms.
“Definitely my girlfriend.”
“Cool!” Tabby exclaims.
“Yeah, cool,” I murmur, my lips spreading into a smile at the shocked look on Macy’s face. She even looks a little dazed. Maybe it’s starting to dawn on her that I’m not going to let her go.
Macy
On the way back to the hotel, all I keep thinking about is Braden’s dysfunctional family, how money can’t buy happiness, and how he loves his little sister. How hard it must be for him to have such a disconnect with his father, but how wonderful that he’s so close with Tabby.
It breaks my heart but has me smiling in the same breath.
And it has me falling harder for the man I tried to keep away. But the wall I’ve built around myself nearly my entire life is definitely crumbling.
We make it back in complete silence. It’s not an awkward silence, but I can tell being around his father and stepmother has him in his own headspace.
Because we didn’t stay there and eat dinner, we decided to just have room service delivered at the hotel. I lie on the bed, feeling content and watching as Braden paces back and forth, his cell pressed to his ear. The conversation he’s having about mergers, contracts and a bunch of other jargon I have no understating of is completely Greek to me, but seems important, so I stay quiet.
But he’s in nothing but his slacks, his shirt gone because he spilled ketchup on it, which had me laughing at him while he grumbled in frustration.
And although I know he is used to having things in pristine order, I like the feeling I have when I’m with him, how I have a genuine laugh at the things he does, even if it annoys him.
So I helped him out of that button-down shirt, forcing myself to act like an adult and not be affected by the way his defined pectoral muscles flexed from the movement, or how his washboard abs came into view once the material was off.
I feel myself heating, feel the rest of that wall finally crumbling down. I know what I want to do, not just because I feel this insane attraction to Braden, but because I learned about who he really is today.
He isn’t just this wealthy, attractive businessman. He might be successful and arrogant, but what made me realize he is exactly the type of man I want, I’ve always wanted even though I didn’t know it, was how I saw him interact with Tabby.
He was gentle and kind with her, even played dolls with her because she complained nobody else would. As I stood off to the side and watched them, just for a moment before they asked me to come join, I realized there are so many different layers to Braden. He’s so much more than he seems.
I push myself up on the mattress just as he gets off the cell. He tosses his phone onto the little table off to the side and turns to face the TV. I watch as his muscles flex as he rubs his hand over the back of his head. He’s so masculine and strong, so ... everything. My mouth dries and my throat tightens. My pulse races and my pussy becomes wet. I feel my nipples harden against the oversized shirt I have on.
His shirt.
I swallow, my throat so dry because what I’m about to do breaks all of my rules. I’m not supposed to get involved, invested. I’m not supposed to let myself fall for the man who blackmailed me.