Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
“Of course she is. I mean, look at you, rich, handsome as fuck and there’s no one more caring. Have some fun.” He shrugs. “Or marry her. Good luck to you.”
The words marry her ring in my ears.
We are in the wedding capital of America.
He slaps me on the back, and I feel like I’ve ticked that off my list. The only other possible wrinkle in our group is Jules. As Sophia’s best friend, she’s bound to be protective, but she wants her friend to be happy. I can’t believe she would be anything but supportive.
“Just one more thing,” I say, “don’t mention it to anyone. Not even Jack. This is Leo and Jules’ weekend. I don’t want to take the spotlight off them in any way.”
He taps his nose. “Sure thing.”
We slip back into the dining room and the rest of dinner passes without incident. Sophia and I hold hands secretly under the table, but neither of us goes to the bar. Maybe we were both waiting for the kiss, and now that it’s happened, we know that when dinner is over, it will happen again. There’s no need to rush.
“So what’s next?” Leo asks.
“Strip club?” Fisher asks. “It is the night before your wedding.”
Leo, Bennett, and I groan.
Jules whispers something into Leo’s ear.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Leo says to her. He turns back to the table. “Jules and I are going to the Bellagio to watch the fountains. You guys can go to the strip club, play poker, whatever.”
My blood starts to hum in my veins. That means I get to spend the rest of the night with Sophia.
“I’m definitely up for poker,” Fisher says. “Anyone else?”
“Happy to witness you lose a lot of money,” Jack says. “I’m definitely down for poker.”
“Byron says he might make an appearance at the tables,” Fisher says, scrolling on his phone.
“Bennett and I are going to make good use of the shower,” Efa says with remarkably casual candor. “Unless you want to play poker?” she asks him.
“Rather than fuck my fiancée? I don’t think so,” he replies.
“What about you, Sophia?” Jules asks. “You want to come to the Bellagio with Leo and me?”
Sophia shakes her head. “I think I’ll have an early night. Or maybe I’ll watch the boys play poker or—something. Don’t worry about me.”
Everyone gets up and we file out of the dining room. When we reach the lobby, everyone disperses in different directions, leaving Sophia and me standing by ourselves.
Just how I wanted it.
SEVEN
Sophia
Kissing Worth was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. His lips erased everything in my mind so I could only think about him and how his hands felt against me. It transported me somewhere I didn’t have to think, to worry, do anything but be. I want to hold on to the feeling forever.
“Shall we take a driver down the Strip?” Worth asks. “If you haven’t seen it at night, you should probably cross it off your list.”
“You’re really selling it to me,” I say.
“Never said I’d make the best tour guide.”
I tilt my head. “But you are anyway.”
Our ride is waiting. Hanging out with billionaires gives a different perspective on life. Nothing seems off-limits. Everything is right there, ready for you to pick up, drink in, enjoy.
“Were you always rich?” I ask as the driver pulls out onto the Strip.
“Absolutely not. My dad died when I was fourteen, and even though we’d never been rich, I’d never thought much about money. Then after he passed…” He pulls in a breath and I smooth my hand over his thigh. He catches my fingers and slides his between mine. “Things got more difficult. In every way.”
“Did your mom work?”
“She was a nurse, but she was hit hard by my dad’s death. She… didn’t cope very well.”
“I can’t even imagine.” In the week since I found out about my dad’s betrayal, I’ve struggled to understand why my mom stayed with him. But maybe his complete absence would have been worse than his partial presence. She says she wanted us to have a good childhood, but how did she pull that off? How did she manage not to let it eat her up?
“But we’re all through the other side. My little sister just graduated from Yale.”
“Yale, huh? That’s amazing. How many siblings do you have?” It feels like I’ve known this man my entire life, but I don’t know anything about him really. I just know that he feels like solid rock compared to the waves of my rage.
“Two younger sisters. My parents had me young, when Dad was still in college. So they waited a while before having Avril and Poppy. My dad died when Poppy, my older sister, was six.”
I think about Worth as a fourteen-year-old, having spent the first decade of his life the only child of two young parents, then to get two siblings and lose a father all in a short space of time. It must have been so difficult for him.