Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46914 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46914 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
But maybe she also knows I’d never abandon Alice.
I sit, leaning forward. “Lay it on us, then.”
“We’re still waiting for somebody,” Aurora says.
“Who?”
Right then, her intercom sounds.
“Kennedy is here.”
Beside me, Alice makes a soft, shuddering noise. My stomach twists.
Kennedy.
Here.
The woman I’ve never met.
The woman Alice sees as her competition….
When nobody could ever be her competition.
“Thank you,” Aurora says, giving me a stern look. “Please send her in.”
CHAPTER 16
Alice
It’s a struggle to sit still as the seconds tick away as if some part of me is trying to lengthen time artificially so I don’t have to lay eyes on her in the flesh.
I’ve seen Kennedy on social media, of course, where she posts endlessly about how Weston came to her defense.
Her knight in shining armor.
Glancing at Weston, I struggle to separate my feelings of anxiety from those of pure want. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt that shows off his throbbing, muscled arms, shorts, and sneakers like he was about to work out before he sped down here.
His arms bulge larger the longer we wait, as if the tension is coursing through him.
His tight jaw makes me think he’s going to snap, shout, or roar.
He doesn’t want to be here if his hand nervously running through his tempting silver hair is anything to go by.
I’m not sure I can take it, being in the same room as her.
A woman who is far more beautiful than me. Sexier. More confident.
Who’s probably already slept with the man of my dreams.
I feel sick.
Deep within, something gives a nasty pulse, as if my core is screaming, telling me this is wrong, telling me I shouldn’t ever have to endure this.
Weston is my man.
“This feels like an ambush,” Weston says, his voice gruff, staring across the desk at Aurora.
“I need to fix the mess you made.”
“You know I could walk out of here any time I damn well please.”
“Yes,” Aurora says. “But you’ve put my reputation on the line. I’ll be a laughing stock if I don’t fix this. Our business relies on wins. I don’t do losses.”
Weston leans back, staring coldly at her. “This isn’t fair on Alice.”
“I know,” Aurora says.
They talk about me as if I’m not sitting here, as if my feelings are simply an awkward and inconvenient byproduct of whatever’s going on.
But then Weston looks over at me.
His fierce lips soften, and he reaches over, taking my hand and squeezing gently. His warmth moves up my arm, deep into my chest, which fuels my beating heart.
Despite everything, I feel some of the aching tension relax – just some.
But it’s more than I had before.
Aurora tsks. “How is that helpful?”
A knock comes at the door.
“Please,” Aurora says. “Before she comes in here, stop holding hands. It will make things difficult.”
“As if I give a damn.”
Aurora looks at me as my mind swirls, and I try to make sense of this.
If Weston cares about Kennedy enough to defend her honor, why would he want her to see us holding hands?
I refuse to believe he’s so much of a psycho that he’d get some sick thrill out of it, but I can’t think of another reason for wanting to do something like that under the circumstances.
Unless there’s something I’m missing, which seems pretty likely.
“Please,” Aurora says when there’s another knock.
She looks at me.
“Alice… please.”
With a sigh – and fighting all my instincts – I pull my hand away and place it in my lap.
Weston looks at me for a moment, his eyes glimmering passionately, his hair catching the sun, looking at me in the way he has.
Like nobody else matters or could matter where we’re concerned.
“Come in,” Aurora calls.
I don’t want to turn, don’t want to see her.
But at the same time, she’ll only be more beautiful, more glamorous, more not me in my head.
Kennedy walks into the office, wearing denim shorts that show off her sleek legs. She’s wearing block heels that highlight her calves and a tank top that shows the straps of her bra… she adjusts a strap as it falls, shooting a seductive look at Weston.
Her hair is expertly styled, bright and blonde.
Her lips and cheeks are full, everything sculpted by surgeons and Botox.
To me, she looks as though she’d be far prettier without all that. It makes me think of Natasha.
It’s Kennedy’s choice how she adjusts her looks. It’s her journey.
Except it’s becoming part of my life the closer she gets. Then she sits down on a chair… pointedly sitting next to Weston so we’re on either side.
I move my hands to my belly as if telling our future children I know this is wrong. We shouldn’t be doing this.
I can’t share him. Ever.
I can’t even think about it.
“We need to talk about how we’re going to fix this,” Aurora says, leaning forward.
Weston suddenly stands.
He walks around my chair, then sits on my side, leaving a gap between Kennedy and me.