Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered under my breath.
With a deep breath, I straightened my suit and entered the air-conditioned interior. I crossed the white tiled floor to the bank of elevators and stepped inside. It shot straight up to the restaurant that took up the entirety of the penthouse overlooking Tech’s campus.
The elevator dinged open on the top floor, and my jaw dropped. I had some vague memory of this place being a subdued business locale that cotillion had turned into a dance floor, but tonight, it was beyond imagination. Fresh flowers blanketed the room. Waiters in suits held trays of finger food and passed out fizzy flutes of champagne. Classical music was a soft melody in the room from the orchestral rendering of a string quartet. It was stunning. Jensen had clearly spared no expense.
“Champagne, sir?” a waiter asked, the brunette smiling up at me as she passed the tray in my direction.
“Thank you.”
I took a glass, not missing her fluttered eyelashes, before continuing deeper into the room. It was full of Wrights in every direction. Jensen at the helm of the party with his wife, Emery, at his side. All of his siblings joking around and laughing near the dance floor in formal attire. Jordan and Julian deep in conversation with Weston and Whitton nearby. And then…there she was.
My heart was in my throat at the first glimpse of her in five long months. Her hair was lighter than it had been before and layered into pristine waves. Her lips were an even darker red. So dark that it leaned toward black, but not quite. A quiet nod to her idol, Wednesday Addams. And the dress. My brain short-circuited at the dress. It was a black mesh number that clung to every single curve. The curves that I’d marked with my hands and tongue and imprinted onto my mind. Now, not a single one was hidden under the tight material.
I swallowed and adjusted my trousers. Fuck.
I was going to have to talk to her.
I should absolutely not talk to her.
That was a bad idea.
A horrible idea.
The very last idea I should have in the entire world.
And yet…
I was already moving in her direction like a magnet tugged toward its pair. I didn’t even notice who she was standing next to until I was nearly there. My eyes slid to the girl at her side, and I barely suppressed a grimace. Eve Houston. The raven-haired vixen who, if rumors were to be believed, had been in a relationship with…my father.
It wasn’t the first time he’d cheated on my mother. I knew that. She knew that. But this time, it had been different. This time, it was with someone the same age as his children. He’d gotten her an apartment, lavished her with expensive gifts, taken her on trips. Mom should have left him after that one, but still, she stayed.
When I met Eve’s eyes, I could tell that she knew who I was, that we both knew what had gone down. Not that I judged her for what had happened. No, that was all on my father.
“Hello, Eve,” I said.
Her eyes widened marginally. As if acknowledging that this interaction was awkward. I probably shouldn’t have come over, but I couldn’t help it. As my eyes slipped from Eve to Harley, her discomfort skittered out of my mind.
There was only Harley.
The wisps of her blonde hair framing her round face. The little dent in her bottom lip, pronounced in her dark lipstick. Her cheekbones, highlighted with some makeup trick that made them look even higher than before. Her blue eyes were lined with winged charcoal and smoky eye shadow that only made her eyes look brighter than humanly possible. And those eyes were looking right at me.
Not with the anger I had been expecting.
But interest.
A cat looking at a mouse and debating on the right time to pounce.
Well, I was fucked.
“Harley,” I forced out, tipping my head in her direction.
That look on her face made me feel like she was gripping me by the throat.
“Chase,” she said with that same coquettish smile.
She was completely unbothered by my presence. Just flirting with me, like our weekend had never happened.
Which was what I’d wanted.
Right?
“It’s good to see you both,” I said.
“You too,” Eve said, glancing between me and Harley as if she could see right through us. “Is it just…you representing your family tonight?”
I was glad for the change in subject. Even if it was indicative of the fact that she was nervous about my father’s appearance.
“Indeed. Just me.”
She relaxed at the words.
“Maybe you can save me a dance later,” Harley said.
She arched an eyebrow when my gaze returned to hers. There was a challenge in her expression. And, oh, how I wanted to meet it.
Instead, I swallowed and said, “Perhaps.” I nodded my head at Eve again and then excused myself from the situation.