Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
“What happened?”
I lean against the sink, closing my eyes, trying my best to block out the memory of it. But it was just too good. A smile spreads. “I don’t even know,” I breathe out. “It all happened so fast.”
“Do you want it to happen again?” she asks.
I pop my eyes open, and nod, slowly, over and over. “Yes,” I murmur.
She gives me a gentle smile. “Look, I’ll admit, he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen, but…” She doesn’t even need to finish her sentence.
“I know. He’s my boss. Soon-to-be ex-boss.” I spin around and place both hands on the counter, staring at myself in the mirror. “I don’t know what to do. How can I face him?”
“Well, what did he say afterward?”
“I fell asleep.” I’m such an idiot. “It’s been so long, and just with everything going on… I zonked out.”
Feb laughs. “That good, huh?”
I close my eyes, remembering once again the way it felt to have Nicholas’ hands on me. His lips on me. His tongue. “Better.” I glance at my sister’s reflection through the mirror. “What do I do?”
She shrugs. “Maybe he barely even remembers.”
I laugh. “Are you kidding?”
“You know how men are. Bang ’em and forget ’em.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t like that at all.”
Feb steps next to me. “I’m sure he’s just as awkward right now as you are.”
“It was a mistake.” I straighten. “We can’t let that happen again.”
Feb nods. “Exactly. I bet he just got wrapped up in all the pretending.”
I chew on my lower lip, thinking about her logic. Is that what happened? Was he just pretending and got caught up?
“I don’t know,” I say. “All I know is that I do not want to play twelve-year-old birthday games with him all day.”
She puts her arm around me. “Well, maybe this will be good for you to confront your feelings.”
“I don’t have feelings.”
“Mm-hmm.”
We exit the bathroom in silence and walk down the resort hallway to one of the ballrooms.
We step inside and I roll my eyes at all the ridiculousness that assaults my eyes.
Nicholas stands in the center of the room, the twins next to him as they lay a Twister mat down.
This can’t be happening.
“Hi, girls,” my mother says as she walks by. “Gang’s all here,” she yells across the ballroom, announcing our arrival.
Nicholas’ eyes snap up and meet mine. My cheeks are on fire as I give him a small smile.
Everyone is here, and I feel like all eyes are on me. My father and Uncle Frank stop their chat and stare in my direction. Even Aunt Yvonne glances at me from the bounty of food she’s putting together on a table on the other side of the room.
I plaster on a fake smile and move toward Nicholas.
Here goes nothing.
“Hi, sleepyhead,” he says as he kisses the top of my head.
“Hi.”
“Ah, February. How was girl’s night?” Nicholas asks my sister, and I inwardly cringe. He knows I wasn’t with my sister last night and I feel horrible for lying to him.
But I can’t let him know I was with Pulse.
And now that I know there’s a mole in Brighting Gaming, I’m at a loss of what to say or do.
I hate this.
I hate that there’s a mole in Nicholas’ company and now I have to do something about it. There’s no way I can work for Pulse, right?
Feb launches into a story about meeting me at the bar and how we drank a little too much, and I want to die. Nicholas raises a brow, staring at me as she continues to blab lie after lie.
I don’t think Nicholas is buying any of it.
“Stop,” I finally say. “I wasn’t with Feb last night.”
My sister’s mouth drops open.
“Sorry, Feb,” I say to her, and then grab Nicholas’ arm to pull him away from my family so I can tell him the truth.
But before I can do just that, my mother announces it’s game time. “Who’s ready to play some games?” She says it with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen.
This can’t be real life.
I nod apologetically at Nicholas. “We’ll talk later.”
The air is thick with tension between us as we join in a few games. I’m not going near the Twister board. I don’t need Nicholas and me tangled in a compromising position. I don’t think I’d be able to control myself.
I won’t lie. I do have feelings for him.
He presses his hand to the small of my back when we finish a bean bag toss game, leading me toward the table of refreshments.
He’s smiling. “This is a lot of fun.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to lie. No one thinks this is fun.”
He grabs a bottle of water, twisting off the cap and chugging nearly half the bottle down before saying, “I do. I didn’t grow up with a lot of family.”