Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
JD nodded to us as he passed by. It was the first time I’d seen him in his Stetson and it made me smile: I’d never seen anyone suit a hat so much. He put his empty glass on the bar. “Stacey, that was the best margarita I’ve had this side of the border.” He turned to call over his shoulder. “Danny? What are you drinking?”
I followed his gaze and saw Danny in a black suit and white shirt, the collar unbuttoned. Anyone else would have looked crazily overdressed but he looked effortlessly cool. He had one arm around a blonde woman with boobs that made mine seem small and a full sleeve tattoo. His other arm was around a slender woman in a red dress with long, chestnut hair. “Beer,” he told JD, and grinned at the women. “Times three.”
I shook my head in wonder. How does he do it? I wondered if he’d ever settle down.
I looked back at Gabriel to find him looking at me over the rim of his glass, his eyes molten. I flushed. “What?”
He lowered the glass and his lips curled into the sort of smile a lion would give an antelope. “You. In that dress.”
I looked down. Bethany had been as good as her word. We’d headed over to their place before the barbecue, and while Cal and Gabriel played with Rufus, we’d spent a very girly hour trying on dresses. I’d wound up in a thin, green cotton dress that hugged my curves and that Gabriel said brought out my eyes. I had a feeling he liked it just as much for the square neckline: I wouldn’t have worn something so low cut a few weeks ago, or worn my hair down. But a lot had changed. I was smiling more, giggling more: especially when Gabriel picked me up. I’d finally learned how to switch off. I’d just needed the right person to unbutton me.
Gabriel slid an arm around me and pulled me close. He stared down into my eyes and just wouldn’t look away. “Someday,” he said at last, “I’m going to have to get someone to paint you.” And he bent down and kissed me gently on the lips. Then came back for another kiss, as if the first wasn’t quite enough. Then a third, and now his breathing was a little growly—
I surfaced, breathless, and put a calming hand on his shoulder: down, boy! Even after last night and this morning, he was insatiable. Not that I was complaining. From the secret smiles on the faces of the other women, their mornings had been the same.
A newcomer spoke from the shadows, just out of range of the fairy lights. “So who do I have to screw to get a drink around here?”
I felt my face light up. I’d have known that grumpy tone anywhere. I ran forward and grabbed Gina’s hand. “I didn’t know you were coming!” I hadn’t seen her since the rest of us went to Utah.
She shrugged. “Kian wanted me to come. Figured I owed him, after he got me back into the US.” She looked around, glowering at the lights, the music, the people.
“Let’s get you a drink.” We led her over to Stacey’s bar.
Just as Stacey was mixing her a John Collins, the shrill ring of a cell phone split the air. It took me a few seconds to realize it was the new one I’d bought at the airport in Utah: I wasn’t used to the ringtone yet. I scrambled in my purse for it and managed to answer just before the caller hung up. “Hello? Hello?” I listened and frowned. “Why do I need to be sitting down?”
Gabriel
I took Olivia’s hand, my brow furrowing in worry. But the call didn’t seem to be bad news, just confusing and unexpected. She squeezed my hand as she mumbled a question. She listened for a long time…and then her eyes snapped wide in shock.
She ended the call but didn’t speak, just stood there staring at her phone. I waited while she processed. Then, at last, she lifted her eyes to me.
“That reporter I gave an interview to?” she said, her voice shaky with disbelief. “She followed up on what I told her, about what happened at the hospital.”
I nodded and waited.
“Three weeks ago, Bryce, the doctor who framed me, suddenly retired. The reporter dug into it.” Olivia’s voice went throaty with emotion. “They caught him! The hospital caught him, stealing oxy again. But they let him retire instead of calling the cops because they didn’t want a scandal.” She shook her head in disgust. “They knew that meant I was innocent, but they didn’t contact me, or try to put things right, because they were trying to keep it all quiet. But thanks to the reporter, it’s going to go public. Now they’re scrambling to make amends.”