Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“Is there somewhere more important you need to be?” a cheeky female voice asked.
Chase lifted his head at the audacious question, watching the woman who’d won him approach where he was standing, her pink lips quirked in a very slight, but humorous smile.
That wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all. Wariness or trepidation at meeting him, possibly. But a woman regarding him with amusement was quite the anomaly for him, and he wasn’t sure what to do with that.
“Yes,” he lied, thrown completely off-kilter by the pure, physical awareness that flooded his veins, especially when she was the complete opposite of the type of women he normally dated. She was understated and naturally pretty, in a fresh-faced, girl-next-door type of way.
While most of the other women at the gala wore sleek, sexy, head-turning gowns, the lower half of her burgundy-hued dress was loose instead of formfitting, skimming her curves instead of accentuating them. Her seemingly low maintenance hair was worn down in what appeared to be natural waves, and her makeup was so minimal that he could see the faint sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her nose and along her cheeks.
Her full, soft-looking lips were distracting as hell, or maybe it was the way her eyes danced with more of that unexpected humor that completely unbalanced his equilibrium.
“You really have somewhere else you need to be?” she asked, tipping her head to the side and unabashedly challenging him again.
“I’m only here as a favor to my sister,” he replied, his tone gruff.
That part was all truth, and he figured he’d be upfront and honest about his reasons for participating in the auction. He hadn’t willingly volunteered but had been coerced into it.
She nodded as if understanding and pushed her hands into the pockets hidden in the voluminous skirt of her dress. “Ahh, so your arm was well and truly twisted. I’d be a bit crabby myself if a sibling pressured me into doing this, too,” she replied, brazenly calling him out on his behavior and attitude.
He was so caught off guard by her sense of humor that a surprising chuckle almost escaped him. He managed, just barely, to maintain his staid composure.
“Who is your sister?” she asked curiously.
“Billie,” he replied.
Her pretty brown eyes widened in shock. “Wait. Billie Coale is your sister?”
He heard the confusion in her voice, since he and Billie had different last names. “Yes. She’s my half-sister.”
“Oh, that explains everything,” she said, as if he’d just clarified the wonders of the universe.
Chase frowned. He was an intelligent man, but he had no clue what she meant or what she was referring to. “What does that explain, exactly?”
“The vast differences in your personalities,” she said, and dared to grin. “You’re half-siblings, so clearly Billie got all the bright, warm, positive qualities in her half of your shared DNA, and you were left with the cantankerous, grumpy traits.”
Her tongue-in-cheek analysis of their significantly contrasting personalities would have amused Chase if she hadn’t nailed it all so accurately. This woman had no idea how much truth her seemingly innocuous statement held.
“I’m Lauren Connelly, by the way,” she said, introducing herself and changing the course of their conversation.
She removed her right hand from her pocket and extended it toward him. He slid his hand into hers, trying to ignore her warm, soft skin and how slender her fingers felt clasped in his larger, stronger ones. He held on longer than he should have, and couldn’t even explain why except that he liked touching her. Even crazier, he also enjoyed seeing the flash of awareness in her eyes as he skimmed his thumb along the back of her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, and shockingly, he meant it.
She gave him a teasing grin as she pulled her arm back, forcing him to release her hand. “Aww, you don’t need to start being polite now.”
He huffed out a laugh, the sound rough from disuse. God, this one had moxie, and she was so transparent and real. He’d been expecting a rich, spoiled socialite to win him, not this unpretentious, feisty, down-to-earth woman who had no qualms about calling him out. As he felt something shift inside of him and his guard lower a few inches, he quickly reminded himself that he had no intention of spending any significant amount of time with her.
He cleared his throat and ran a hand along his jaw, forcing himself to treat this as a business transaction and do what needed to be done. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to bid on me, though you did do me a favor by doing so and I’m happy to repay you very generously.”
Her gaze narrowed on him. “What do you mean?”
He exhaled a deep breath and shoved his own hands into the front pockets of his slacks. “I mean, I’m happy to write you a check to reimburse you for the amount you bid on me, plus a substantial bonus for pain and suffering—”