Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“Holy moly,” I said aloud.
The door was thrust back open and he smiled. “I don’t know what that means, but I think I agree.” And then Zane flashed those pearly whites and those dimples and again clicked the door shut.
I was mortified with embarrassment, but I couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
Wow. WOW! I liked him. I liked him a lot. I barely knew him, of course, so this was very premature, but phew… he was tall, dashing, and seemed so nice. I wasn’t afraid of him. Even when he was on top of me. I was the opposite of afraid. There was that feeling again – excitement. Butterflies.
Maybe getting my vaccination would happen when he got back and then I wouldn’t be a virgin anymore. And maybe this was exactly how it was supposed to happen. All that fear of sex and of men in general (besides Giorgio)? Yet I felt not a shred of fear about it being Zane. He touched me like he thought I was beautiful. He looked at me like he hated to leave. My mind flashed back to that look of steel resolve on his face as he ran at me in the courtyard of that big castle, looking at me like I was exactly what he wanted, and he was going to do anything to have me. It made no sense, but it was also so exciting I felt like I might burst.
My knees went weak and my underwear were definitely soaked.
Was this really my life? I giggled again as I looked around.
This room was more than nice. The furnishings were beautiful. Jewel tones in both the hard and soft furnishings. Everything was bright and sparkling clean.
I took a big sip of the juice.
Oh wow. Delicious. Extraordinary fresh berry flavor was bursting in my mouth. My throat went super-warm for just a beat. I took the goblet and the platter of food to the table set with a bejeweled little tea service, a big princess dolly with black ringlets and a fuzzy pink bejeweled hat on her head sat in the chair opposite to me.
I dug into the food, suddenly famished. It was delicious, too. The lattice-cut things that looked like radishes were sweet and salty at the same time, a cracker. Dunking them into each of the three little dipping bowls was a treat. One bowl contained a savory dip, another a sweet one. The third one was slightly spicy and tasted like con queso but made my tongue throb a little bit, so I took a healthy sip of the purple throat-warming juice. I already felt more grounded with food in my stomach.
The little sparkled meringues melted on my tongue with a savory flavor. The crackers were crusted with pink sparkles, too, and tasted sweet. The rolled meat reminded me of roasted deli turkey with a spicy kick. There was a bluish meat and I didn’t like it; it was reminiscent of liver. Everything else on the platter was fabulous.
I felt like Shirley Temple in The Little Princess when she wakes up in the orphanage to a surprise feast. I loved that movie when I was a little girl. My mother did, too. We often spent our Sunday afternoons under a blanket on the couch with old black and white movies from her childhood. This was a wondrous feeling, all the interesting food and drink in this pretty bedazzled room with excitement flooding my veins at the possibilities in my new life.
My new life.
I shook my head in astonishment as I surveyed my surroundings, my eyes getting snagged by the slightly darkening strange sky through the window. I chewed my lower lip. How many people got a true opportunity to start over? And the starting over didn’t appear it would be arduous. It was as if everything was laid out before me like a feast. Like the feast I’d just been devouring. A beautiful man. A beautiful home. A sweet little boy. I giggled aloud again, feeling foolish for all the laughing, as I ate more of the delicious food. I didn’t feel tipsy any longer. I felt elated. I ate a little more than a third of the platter when my bladder began to nudge me. I needed a bathroom.
I opened a door and found an empty closet. I moved to where the castle façade seemed to fit into the wall and opened the door. Oh. It was a fairly vast playhouse. The door opening was as tall as I was, so I didn’t have to bend. I stepped inside, finding myself in a cutesy little playhouse, facing a short shelf lined with books and bordered by two rocking chairs. I lifted a book and flipped it open. I didn’t recognize any of the characters inside, but the book was textured with symbols and strange-looking birds. They were actually a little bit frightening-looking. Like ostriches with mean and angry faces instead of big eyes and long eyelashes.