Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“What do you mean?” I asked, wondering if I was hearing this correctly.
Her eyes widened a little as she looked up at me, almost as if she was seeing me for the first time.
“We’re going to have to go to the wedding,” she said. “Together. As a couple.”
“What?”
“Okay, look, this is perfect. Just hear me out, okay?”
She was rubbing down Bentley with a brush now and gesturing at me with it.
“All right,” I said.
“So okay, I looked into your situation a bit. You are definitely going to need a lawyer. It’s complicated and could take some time, but I think you can win if you go about it carefully and have someone on your side that knows the law. As it turns out, you happen to know someone who not only is very careful, but knows the law really, really well. I have done plenty of estate disputes. I can handle this one.
“Maybe, if you’re willing, I can help you, and you can help me.”
“Help you how exactly?” I asked.
She hung her head and then looked back at me, taking the lead of Bentley and guiding him to his stall.
“I need a date for this wedding. Someone who looks good in a suit and can charm people and is successful. You can do all three. We can go and act like a shiny, happy couple, then Jade and Trevor will get hitched and be out of my life forever, and I never have to think about them ever again. I will never mention it. I will never think about it. I will probably never see either one of them again. I will just avoid going to Ashton, which shouldn’t be hard since I don’t make enough money to even cross into their zip code.”
“They live in Ashton?” I asked.
“I told you. Giant house, destination wedding. They’re loaded.”
“All right,” I said. “So, what happens if you run into her again? Ashton isn’t that far away. We share the same hospital, and there’s only one Wal-Mart between the two cities.”
“First, Jade wouldn’t be caught dead in a Wal-Mart now. She thinks she’s too good for it. Did you see her boots?”
“No,” I responded. “I mean, I physically saw them, but I don’t know what I should have noticed.”
“They are Khaites. They cost fifteen hundred dollars. And she’s just wearing them to ride a horse. She was showing off.”
“Oh,” I said. “Fifteen hundred dollars? For boots?”
She rolled her eyes, shutting the door of the stall where the horse was now standing and crossing the space between us. She looked suddenly wistful in a sad way.
There was an awkward silence as I watched her. She wasn’t looking directly at me. She was staring at my chest, and I wondered what her mind was projecting there. Some memory of times simpler times, I guessed. Times where she had her friend and a future she was expecting, only to have it ripped away from her and to lose both. I felt for her.
“Well, all right, so you think I can win my case?” I asked, trying to get back to the subject.
“I think I can help you,” she said. “I can’t guarantee anything. But I can tell you I have seen a lot of similar cases and that I have a high degree of confidence that this won’t be any more complicated than anything I have dealt with before that I have settled successfully for my clients.”
“Is that legalese?” I joked.
“No,” she said, her face suddenly going stern. “That’s basic English.” She seemed to catch herself and shake it off, the rising flair of anger subsiding almost as quickly as it came. “Sorry. I’m just upset.”
“I can tell,” I said.
“Look, I can’t tell you for sure I can fix this for you, but I promise, I will try. I will treat it like any other of my paid cases. In return, all I am asking for is for you to accompany me to a wedding and occasionally kiss me and hold my hand in front of other people and act like you like me. How does that sound?”
My stomach tightened at the thought of kissing her again. It was almost enough just by itself to say yes.
“When is the wedding?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet. Please say yes,” she said.
I could afford to take some time off to accompany her on a wedding, depending on when it was. Hopefully, she would be able to figure out how to resolve the whole situation before then, anyway, and it wouldn’t matter. But even if she didn’t, I was having a hard time saying no to playing boyfriend with her.
Her big, pouty lips were pressed together as she looked at me with sad, desperate eyes. She was so pretty. I wondered if she knew that. Even stressed out, frazzled, sweating, and worn out from working with horses, she was so damned pretty. I wanted to feel her nuzzled up next to me again. I wanted to feel her lips pressed against mine again. I wanted to taste her again.