Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 84952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
I liked it. I like him.
Even at the Landry’s house when he was quiet, I was glad I was there with him. In the car when he was refusing to cooperate, he made me laugh. And even when he walked away and left me hanging, I wasn’t upset.
And Lord knows I wasn’t mad about him coming back to kiss me, nor was I anything but shocked that he shared the crux of his refusal to talk.
I tidy up the countertop and rinse my bowl. I’m too preoccupied to get it in the dishwasher, so I leave it in the sink next to the plate that housed my cheese and crackers at two this morning.
I check the clock on the oven before making my way to my bedroom.
“You just have to keep your head about you,” I tell myself. “You can’t really walk away now. But you can remember that this isn’t a repeat of your past boyfriends where you should be worried. You know how it ends. And you hate it.”
I groan. Flashes of Sebastian and his superiority complex come blitzing through my mind. I’m reminded of Charlie and the way his phone would be lit up like a Christmas tree after away games and of Benny’s mercurial position on monogamy.
“Yes, I freaking do hate how it ends. And it always ends with those guys,” I say with a groan. “At least the ending with Hollis is planned out. That makes this doable.”
My stomach twists as I slip on the emerald-green dress I chose to wear tonight. It’s a stretchy velvet that gathers on my left shoulder and leaves my right one bare. The waist is hugged with two braided pieces that cinch me in and deepen the curve of my waist without the strangulation of a corset.
Even though I bet Hollis is hot as hell in a suit, I’m not wearing a corset.
I glimpse down at my phone to check for missed calls. It’s only the two-hundredth time I’ve looked since he texted me around midnight that he would be here to pick me up this evening. I was quick—maybe too quick, in retrospect—to return his message and then waited for a follow-up that didn’t come.
Naturally.
Ignoring the lump of uncertainty in my stomach, I find a pair of diamond earrings and put them on. I slip on my nude heels and exaggerate my breathing in hopes it evens out.
“You should’ve just had him leave the Landry’s and bring you home as soon as you found out he was a baller,” I chastise myself. “All of this was too easy. You were attracted to him because he’s your weakness all summarized into one frustratingly handsome package.”
I stand straight and look at myself in the mirror.
I imagine Hollis standing next to me. With the heels, I’ll probably come up to just under his nose. I envision his broad shoulders filling out a black suit jacket and his handsome face smiling down at me. I shiver.
A sound squeaks from the hallway, pulling me out of my daydream.
“Hey, Riss! Where are you?” Bellamy’s voice shouts from the foyer.
“My room.”
“Are you decent?” she asks. “Boone is with me.”
“I’m dressed.”
A few seconds later, my cousin walks into my bedroom. He stops in his tracks.
“Holy shit, Riss.”
“What?” I look down to see if there’s a hole in my dress somewhere, or maybe I have on two different shoes or something. “What, Boone? Does this look bad?”
When I look up, he’s smiling.
“In a purely I’m-not-your-cousin-and-just-a-guy opinion, I really hope you’re trying to drive this dude crazy tonight because you look gorgeous.”
I scrunch up my shoulders and grin. “Thanks.”
“Here.” He thrusts a box my way. “Looks like I made it just in time. It’s from Mom. She said this is a prototype, and she thought you might need a little good juju tonight.”
I take the black box from him and open the lid. A delicate rose gold bracelet with a tiny heart lays inside.
“This is so pretty,” I coo.
I slide it out of the box and onto my wrist as Bellamy comes bursting into my room like a hurricane. She holds a box of Cheez-Its in her hand.
“Did you bring those with you?” I ask.
“Nope. Got them from your pantry.” She sits on my bed and reclines back. “I don’t know why I never buy these. They’re so good.”
“Why would you when you just get them for free from me?” I ask.
“Good point, Riss. Good point.”
Boone and I exchange a look. He shrugs.
“Did you guys come together?” I ask.
“Nope. We pulled up at the same time,” Bellamy says. “What’re the odds of that?”
“Wade left this geeky magazine at my house the other day,” Boone says about one of his brothers. “I was flipping through it, and they suspect that people who spend a lot of time together can sense what the other person is doing and feeling.”