Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“Your parents were very different,” I tell him.
“They were,” he says with a note of pride in his voice. I envy him for that.
We eat silently for a few minutes but it’s the kind of silence that comes with being comfortable with another person. The steak is perfectly cooked and so are the accompanying sautéed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Still, it’s a lot of food and it’s not long before my stomach is protesting.
“Do you like the food?” Jace asks when I push away my plate.
“I love it but it’s a lot and I’m already full,” I say.
He nods but doesn’t try to coax me to eat some more as other people would.
“It’s a lot of responsibility to run a clinic the size of The Anderson,” I say as I sip my wine. My gaze moves to his lips as he replies. I like the shape of them and I find myself longing to trace the outline with my finger.
“It is but my parents help. They’re on the board and they’ve always made it clear that they want to help in the big decisions at the clinic,” Jace says. “I consult them a lot.”
I love his lack of pride in asking for help. The more I get to know Jace, the more I wonder if there really is anything that’s been hidden at the clinic. He comes across as very strict and serious when it comes to his work. I don’t see fuck ups happening under his watch. It’s early days but I’ve always trusted my instinct for people and Jace is ticking all the correct boxes. In my mind’s eye, I can see Amelia, my editor frowning at me and wagging a skeptical finger.
“What about you? Have you always wanted to be a personal assistant?” he asks and seems very interested in my answer.
Because of this, I try to stick to the truth as much as I can. “Not particularly. I wanted to be a writer. I still plan to do that in the future.” Is it my imagination or does the tone of my voice sound weird? Like I’m lying.
His eyes light up. “Oh yeah? In that case, you should meet my sister-in-law, Ivy Martin. She writes—”
“Medical thrillers,” I shriek making people seated near us turn to stare. I clasp my hand over my mouth. “Are you serious? Ivy Martin is your sister-in-law?”
Jace nods with a huge grin across his face. “I’m not a big reader but when I do read, I read her stuff.”
“She’s a great writer and yes, I’d love to meet her.” I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to meet Ivy Martin.
We don’t run out of conversation during dinner, as I feared we would. We finish the bottle of wine, or rather, I do. Jace drinks one glass and excuses himself because he’s driving. When we leave, he touches my arm lightly, and awareness tingles through my blood stream.
You can cut the sexual tension with a knife in the car. We don’t speak on the way to my place. My body throbs in places I had no idea could throb. I want Jace Anderson so badly. I’ve never been a slave to my body before. I could blame the wine but that would be lying to myself.
I want to invite him up to my apartment so badly. I’ve fantasized about those big hands on my body, squeezing, caressing... Fuck him and get it over and done with. That’s the only way to get Jace Anderson out of my system and then I can concentrate on the reason I’m at The Anderson Clinic.
Amelia hasn’t asked me a thing so far. She knows it will take time to get the information she wants. She won’t be patient forever, though. I’ll need to have some sort of progress so the sooner I focus, the better. My mind is made up and when Jace slides the car into a parking space in front of my apartment…
“Do you want to come up for coffee?” I ask him with a shaky voice.
“I’d like that,” he says quietly and kills the engine.
Goosebumps break out on my skin as we walk into my apartment building. Am I really going to go through with this? I’ve never invited a man to my home for the sole purpose of having sex. I feel slutty and wild. As if I don’t have a care in the world.
In the elevator, Jace smiles at me but otherwise stays absolutely motionless while I can’t keep my feet still. When the car comes to a stop on my floor the pounding of my heart increases. I open my purse and dip my hand in to find my keys. I had them a moment ago when I opened the building door. Shit. I can’t find my keys.
“Here, let me do that,” Jace says and takes my purse. He finds the keys and hands them to me.