Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
I leaned in conspiringly and laid out my plan. With a few nods, she promised she’d have everything set up for me and left to make it happen.
We’d just turned away when Daniel walked up. “Oaklyn.”
“Hey, Daniel.”
“Kiddo,” he greeted me, reaching his hand out.
I leaned back before he could make contact. “Don’t you dare ruffle my hair. It took hours to pin it in place.”
He chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Have you seen Kent?”
“Not yet. He said something about a phone call and told me to get started without him.”
“Oh.”
He squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here.”
“Okay.”
“It’s going to be okay, Olivia.”
I nodded, but without confidence.
“I need to mingle, but grab yourself some champagne and stop worrying. If you need me, I’m here.”
“Thank you, Uncle Daniel.”
“I’m always here. Always.”
With that reassurance and a kiss to the forehead, he disappeared into the crowd of people, leaving Oaklyn and me alone to wait.
And wait we did.
We found a spot against a wall at the edge of the room and drank glass after glass of champagne, stealing a fresh one every time a waiter stopped by. My mother would be disappointed in my lack of social graces tonight, but my nerves prevented me from being on for strangers. There was only one person I wanted to be on for, and he had yet to arrive.
As the minutes ticked by, my heart sank a little lower, the champagne went down a little quicker. Maybe he wasn’t coming. All this stress, all this planning, for nothing. Doubt hung on my limbs, making them heavy and hard to hold up. I wanted to sink to the floor and feel sorry for myself. I downed the contents in my glass and was about to do just that when Oaklyn whispered. “There he is.”
She nudged my shoulder, nodding to the entrance.
Every nerve ending came to life, making me ultra-sensitive to the rush of adrenaline surging through my veins. It hurt how hard my heart thumped against my chest when I took in his broad shoulders in a black suit and vest, his snowy white shirt unbuttoned at the top. It hurt when my heart beat irregularly and tried to climb out my throat at his mere presence.
My heart thought me a fool and was ready to abandon my body just to get to him. My heart thought my body was stupid for standing still and watching him move through the crowd, looking delicious and not at all depressed. It screamed at me to screw the plan and run to him, fall at his feet, and beg for forgiveness.
He shook hands and smiled, even managing a laugh. The deep rumble reached across the space and pricked at my eyes, causing tears to build until they fell over.
“I haven’t slept all week. Meanwhile, he’s looking better than ever.”
The more I watched through blurry eyes, the more doubt crept in. Maybe he hadn’t been missing me at all. Maybe he was relieved to not have some naïve girl holding him back, asking him to be someone he’s not.
“Does he?” Oaklyn asked. She tipped her head to the side as if studying him from all angles. “He looks tired. Even from here, his smile looks forced. Which is saying something for a man who almost always smiles.”
I tipped my head like hers and watched him turn away from the group he’d been talking to. His full lips immediately dropped to a flat line. He snagged a glass of champagne from the passing tray and downed it in one go. Maybe Oaklyn was right. Maybe he was hurting too.
Maybe I was letting my fear color what was really there.
Pulling my shoulders back, I swiped the tears from my cheeks just as he looked up and over, locking eyes with mine.
Almost forty feet stood between us, but I felt each emotion slam into me as if it was a physical force.
Hurt.
Longing.
Need.
Desire.
Time stretched on—stood still for us to drink each other in. As if a rubber band snapped, he turned to come to me. Just as quickly, he stopped when Vivian called his name.
“Alexander Kent. It’s about time you arrived,” she said from the stage where the jazz band played.
He winced before turning to face Vivian, lifting his glass in salute. “It’s called fashionably late.”
The crowd laughed, and I took that as my chance to slip away. As I made my way along the edge of the room, Vivian kept everyone’s attention.
“Well, we have a heck of a party planned for the man of the hour.”
“Strippers should be here any minute,” Daniel called from somewhere in the crowd. Another rumble of laughter as well as some cheers.
Vivian narrowed her eyes at Daniel and smiled before facing Kent again. “To get the night started, I think we should sing Happy Birthday. What does everyone think?”