Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
After some negotiation and a good-sized deposit in my bank account, they sent the items via overnight courier to my suite here. I put them on hours ago so I could take a picture in the courtyard of the hotel.
Our transaction is a rousing success in their eyes since both the dress and the shoes have sold out already, according to a text message the boutique’s owner sent me less than five minutes ago.
Daniel sprints toward me with a grin on his lips. “I’m all set, Gina.”
“You’re actually going through with it?” I question for a second time.
The first time was when we got in the car. I suspected that Daniel’s excitement about getting inked was all a show for Kade, but he assured me that wasn’t the case.
He only waffled briefly when he told me that Kade resides in Manhattan, so he wasn’t sure about his recommendation on the tattoo artist, but I chased that worry away when I found the Instagram page of the woman set to take a needle to Daniel’s skin. Her name is Angel, and her work is stunning, so it’s obvious Kade Benton knows exactly what he’s talking about.
“Damn right, I am.” Daniel winks. “I’m checking off my dad’s wish list on this trip. So far, I learned how to swim, and the tattoo comes next.”
“You didn’t learn how to swim,” I scoff.
“How the hell would you know?” He chuckles. “A beautiful woman jumped in the pool when you bailed. Elowen taught me a thing or two.”
I don’t want that admission to sting, but it does.
I turn around so Daniel won’t see the disappointment that I’m trying to hide.
“You should have brought your swimming teacher to the club,” I whisper.
“What was that?” He rounds me. “What did you just say?”
I take a breath before I glance at his face. Stubble is settling over his jaw, and it’s a good look for him. I know jealousy is not a good look for me, so I force a smile. “The tattoo that you’re getting…what is it?”
He pats the inside of his left bicep. “A special phrase right here.”
“What special phrase?”
“You’ll see.” He perks a brow. “I’m up next.”
Slightly disappointed that he won’t tell me more about his tattoo, I glance toward a large window to see a group of people walk by. “It’s getting late, but Vegas is always buzzing.”
“It’s early,” Daniel says without checking his watch. “It can’t be later than ten. Do you need to be somewhere? Did you promise your time to a sponsor tonight?”
Those words cut deeper than they should because sometimes it feels like my sponsorships dictate my life. “I don’t need to be anywhere. Do you? Are you meeting up with someone later?”
His brows pinch together. “Like who?”
Not expecting to be put on the spot, I sigh. “I don’t know.”
“You do know,” he accuses with a finger pointing at me. “You think I want to meet up with Elowen.”
Hearing her name for a second time spears me, but I stand strong and keep smiling. “You did say she taught you a thing or two. Are the lessons set to continue tonight?”
He takes a step back to eye me up. “You’re jealous.”
I shake my head a little too vigorously. “What? That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not,” he says. “As your sister said earlier, the lady doth protest too much.”
“The lady isn’t protesting at all,” I argue. “I think all of those shots are catching up to you, Lawton.”
He rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Could be, but I know jealousy when I see it, and I’m seeing it now.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“You are,” he bounces back with a smirk.
I run a hand through my hair, pushing a few strands behind my ear. “Don’t be a jerk, Daniel.”
His hand moves to follow the path of mine, but he stops when his fingers feather over my cheek. “Don’t be so beautiful, Gina.”
Our eyes lock, but the sudden ring of a phone drops his gaze almost immediately.
He fishes his phone out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket. “It’s your brother.”
Dammit, Dominick. Worst timing ever.
“Dominick,” he answers the phone in a cheerful tone. “What do you need?”
Although I can’t make out what he’s saying, I can hear my brother’s deep voice on the other end of the call.
“I still have weeks,” he says. “I guarantee it’s epic.”
Again, I stand silent while Dominick says something that makes Daniel shake his head.
“I’ll tell you what,” he says to my brother. “I’ll run it by Gina before the big day. You trust her judgment, right?”
My eyes widen because I have no clue what they’re talking about.
“Good,” he says abruptly. “I need to go. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”
As he lowers the phone, I ask the obvious question. “What was that about?”
“Your brother doesn’t trust me to give the greatest best man speech ever, so I need you to weigh in on it.”