Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Somehow, I knew extravagant was the way to go with Elena. Nothing less would be right.
She accepted both as if it was her due, as well as the kiss I bestowed on her soft cheek.
“I convinced Ally to take some time off.”
“Well, that’s a first.”
I winked. “There’ve been many firsts, Elena.”
Ally slapped me on my arm. “Adam!”
I grinned. “What?” I asked innocently. “You rode my…bike for the first time, didn’t you?”
Elena scoffed as Ally’s cheeks darkened. Chuckling, I brushed a kiss to her heated skin.
“Behave,” she admonished quietly.
“I’ll try.”
Elena clapped her hands. “No! I like seeing the two of you like this. It’s like a breath of fresh air.” She sighed as she picked up her glass. “My Theo and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other. We—what is that phrase you young ones use nowadays—we fucked like rabbits all the time. I remember getting kicked out of the country club for inappropriate behavior on the golf course.” She paused dramatically. “Now, it wasn’t the first time. The only difference was we got caught. That man knew his way around my putting green, let me tell you.”
Ally sputtered into her glass as I threw my head back and laughed. “I bet you got kicked out of a few places didn’t you, you minx, you.”
“A few. He was a very physical man.” She chuckled. “Thank God. So many of the men I’d met before him were dreadful, boring people. As if they had sticks up their asses—like that Bradley. What a tool.”
I promptly decided I was arranging for flowers to be sent to this woman weekly. I adored her.
She turned to Ally. “I like this one. Sassy and good-looking.”
Ally rolled her eyes. “Don’t encourage him. Stroking his ego only makes it bigger.”
“That’s not what you said this morning when you were stroking my big…ego,” I deadpanned.
Ally dropped her head in her hands, laughing. Elena chuckled.
“I can’t do anything with him,” Ally groaned.
“Do you want to?” Elena asked, tilting her head.
“No. I love him just the way he is,” Ally admitted with a smile.
Elena leaned forward and patted my hand. “I’m glad she found you, boy.”
Lifting Ally’s hand, I kissed her knuckles. “So am I.”
Ally excused herself to clean up from lunch. I watched her walk away with a grin, loving the sway of her hips as she moved.
Elena cleared her throat, and I dragged my gaze back to her.
“You have it bad.”
“It’s terminal.”
“I want to see lots of you, boy.”
“Ditto. On one condition.”
“Oh—negotiations. Excellent. Let’s begin.”
“Only one.”
“Name it.”
I leaned forward, earnest. “I get called away a lot. Promise me when I do, you’ll watch out for Ally.”
“Keep the monsters at bay, such as it were?” she asked with a wry grin.
“They know exactly how to destroy her. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “How serious are you about my girl?”
I met her gaze unwaveringly. “She’s my world now. She feels the same about me. Her parents, though—”
“Hate you,” she finished.
“I’m not acceptable.”
She scoffed. “Ronald. There’s another tool. My brother, Randall, was younger and spoiled rotten. Grew up to be the biggest snob that ever lived, and he passed that along to his son. My nephew is so worried about keeping up appearances, he forgets to actually look and see anything. He’s built Ollie up into a saint in his own mind. He will never forgive Alexandra for his death.”
I nodded, having figured that out. “I’m worried what they’ll do and say to her when I’m not around.”
“They’ll try. But I’ll say this, boy. I’ve never seen Alexandra look at anyone the way she looks at you. It won’t matter what they say or do. For the first time in her life, she’s made up her mind about what she wants. And she wants you.” She patted my arm. “But I’ll keep an eye out. Now, I have a request for you—two, actually.”
“Name them.”
“I know what you do is dangerous. Promise you’ll be careful and come home to her.”
“Always.”
She hesitated, her eyes becoming distant for a moment.
“Ollie was a gift to me. I never understood how two such uptight people had a son like him. He was pure sunshine. I adored him.” She looked at me purposely. “And he adored your Ally. She’s paid an unnecessary price for his death. He would have hated his father for it.”
“Ally loved him as well. She still misses him.”
She frowned. “They drummed so much guilt into her head for so long, she believed it. I’ve only ever been able to do so much.” She gazed into space for a moment. “Ronald has always been rigid. Always in control and demanding. His first wife was much the same as Sarah. She did whatever he told her to do. When he lost Oliver, it was as if he snapped. His bitterness was so strong it twisted him, and he needed to punish someone.”