Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Amber’s father is coming.”
I glanced at her to see she was busy admiring her manicure. I’d never met her father before, didn’t know anything about him, really. And I didn’t care enough about her life to ask.
“Did you meet him at the wedding?” he asked.
I looked back at my dad and shook my head, keeping all thoughts of Carter—the reason I hadn’t spent much time meeting the other guests—out of my head, because… I was not going there with other people able to see me blush.
“I don’t think so.” I didn’t bother telling him I’d been pretty preoccupied with a certain someone.
Thankfully, my father let it go. I didn’t think he would pry, least of all in front of Amber.
I grabbed my phone out of my purse, seeing a new text. My heart fluttered at the sight of who it was from.
Carter
Are you still being a brat, or you want to try being a good girl?
I felt my face heat as all the things we’d done just the week prior played through my head in stark clarity. I glanced guiltily over at Amber, then to my father, neither paying attention to me—thank God. I thought about sending a reply, but now probably wasn’t the time.
Besides, I thoroughly enjoyed being a “brat.” And if it meant he gave me some of that delicious punishment he had before, I was all about it.
Ten minutes later, I was still listening to Amber drone on about all the shopping she’d done while in Vale, when I heard a car pulling up right outside the house.
Amber headed to the window, looked out, and muttered, “He’s here,” before she was leaving the kitchen, her heels clacking against the hardwood floor.
Dad took off his apron, made sure the stove was off, and gestured for me to lead the way.
I heard the door open and close, then the low hum of voices. It wasn’t until I rounded the corner that the blood in my veins froze, my heart plummeted to my stomach, and I could not move.
And it was all because of the man standing right inside the entryway.
His gaze was locked on me, and a momentary flash of surprise crossed his features before he hid it with that stoic demeanor I recognized just from our one night together.
No fucking way was I staring at Carter.
And fate wouldn’t be so twisted that he was Amber’s father.
My face was on fire, and I took an unsteady step back, turned, and fled to the bathroom like a coward. Once inside, I shut the door and leaned against it, my head making a soft thud as it connected with the wood. Eyes closed, I tried to control my breathing.
A moment later, there was a soft knock on the door.
“Mina?” Dad asked, his voice muffled. “You okay?”
I pushed away from the door and braced my hands on the sink, a cold sweat covering my body. “I-I’m fine. When nature calls and all that.” I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, my voice shaky. There was a moment of silence from my father. I was aware he knew I was full of shit, but he was good at not calling me out on it or prying.
“Okay, we’ll be in the kitchen.” He stayed there for a second, then I heard his retreating footsteps.
It was only when I knew I was truly alone that I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror. My long, blonde hair was in loose waves around my face—which was too pale from the shock of a lifetime. I had a light sheen of sweat on my brow and splashed some cold water on my cheeks to cool off.
How in the hell am I supposed go out there and act like I didn’t let that man—Amber’s damn father—fuck the hell out of me as he called me his good girl just a week ago?
I couldn’t stay locked up all night, and I wasn’t about to leave and look like the coward I was currently acting like. I had to face this eventually.
So I straightened my shoulders, fixed my hair, made sure I was no longer sweating, and told myself to act like shit wasn’t currently weird as hell.
I left the bathroom and headed toward the kitchen, where I heard their voices. My steps faltered a second as the deep sound of Carter’s timbre pierced me in all the right places.
Right before I rounded the corner, I took a steadying breath. You’ve got this, girl.
And then I was stepping into the kitchen, where, of course, all conversation ceased and all eyes turned to me. But I was already looking at Carter, whose attention was laser-trained right on me.
My throat tightened, my belly flipped, and my heart did this funny palpating thing in the center of my chest.
“You sure you’re okay?”