Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Is he going to discreetly drag me away to a private place where he can say and do anything to me without anyone else knowing?
Joseph watches me, his face contorted by fury and his fists shaking by his side.
But something’s strange. He’s just staring at me, shooting daggers with his eyes without actually moving.
Why is he doing nothing? It makes me nervous.
“Ava.”
For the second time since I walked out the door, I jump from the shock. I’ve been too busy watching Joseph to notice someone approaching me from behind.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize who’s just called my name. It’s Ollie. And Noah’s with him.
“Are you okay?” Noah asks.
“Yeah.” I look up at Joseph, who’s grinning at us like the Cheshire cat.
“Hey, just the two of you today? Where are the others?” Joseph asks.
“Let’s go,” Ollie says as he takes my hand and takes me to Nathan’s SUV. Turns out the last car that pulled up at the sidewalk didn’t belong to a parent, after all.
“Smile, asshole,” Noah says from behind me. When I look over my shoulder, he’s taking a picture of Joseph with his phone camera. “Let’s see what the judge will say about you harassing Ava at her workplace.”
Joseph’s smile makes me feel uneasy. He doesn’t seem perturbed by Noah’s threat, even though he should be.
Surely, a judge would see a time-stamped picture of him at the school, see how unstable he is, and throw out the case . . . right?
“You’re walking funny . . .” Ollie says, sitting cross-legged on my bed.
His words stab me like an ice-cold spear. It’s not just Joseph who doesn’t like the way I walk. Maybe there is something wrong with it.
“Am I?” I ask, avoiding Ollie’s gaze as I put my bag on the desk in my room.
“Yeah. Do your feet hurt?”
Oh.
As a matter of fact . . . “Yeah. My shoes pinched and rubbed all day.”
“Hmm . . . Pinched and rubbed, huh?” Nathan says, suddenly appearing in the doorway. “Sounds like I came in here at the right time. What are we talking about?”
I blush as I feel Nathan’s hot gaze roaming all over my body, making it clear he wants me. “Oh, hey. Thanks for dinner, Nathan,” I say, trying to change the subject.
“Actually, I’m Noah,” he says.
I squint at him and study his features. The mischievous glint in his eyes. The slight, almost mocking curl of his lips. The speed of his speech.
“No,” I say confidently. “Nice try, Nathan.”
“Damn it. How do you know? Is it a lucky guess?”
“No.” I laugh. “You two just look like different people to me.”
“Not many people say that.” Nathan takes a seat on the bed as I take off my earrings at my desk, which doubles as a vanity table. Through the mirror on the wall, I see Nathan stretching out on the bed like a lazy cat.
He deserves a rest after the meal he’s prepared tonight. Apparently, while everybody else was working on Joseph’s lawsuit, Nathan went to buy groceries and then made a delicious spread for dinner with lobsters and steaks cooked to perfection.
“So what were we talking about? I want to hear more about this pinching and rubbing. Can I also see a demonstration?” Nathan asks, turning on his side to face me, propping his head up with an elbow on the bed.
“I’d rather not.” I grimace.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but we were just talking about her shoes,” Ollie says. “But Ava, how do you feel about a massage? Maybe that’ll help your feet.”
I look at Ollie and Nathan through the mirror, my gaze flicking between the two handsome, head-turning men.
We all know Ollie probably wants to give me more than a foot massage. The hard bulge poking at my ass this morning was proof enough.
But then again . . . it’s not like I didn’t enjoy it . . . and it’s not like I don’t want to do it again . . .
It’s just that . . . we’re talking about five men here, and even though they’re five of the hottest men I’ve seen, it’s still intimidating.
But today, somehow, it’s getting hard for me to see them as “five men.” They’ve been more helpful than anyone else in my life.
Tony or Jessica can’t do anything to help me, and I already know how my parents would react if they knew about Joseph’s lawsuit. They’d just tell me to call him and somehow persuade him to drop it, although of course, he won’t do it just out of the goodness of his heart.
Ugh. What am I doing, thinking about my parents and my ex while I have two gorgeous men in my bed?
The mere thought of sharing my bed with two men seemed scary just days ago, but now, I see them as individuals.