Total pages in book: 8
Estimated words: 7958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 7958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
“Right up those stairs there and to the right.”
“Thanks again.”
“Enjoy your stay.”
“I’m sure I will,” I say even though I highly doubt it. I am here because I have to be. I can fake fun when I have to.
I trudge up the stairs knowing the only good thing about this weekend is going to be getting to hang out with my nephew, Harry. He’s technically my sister’s stepson, but we don’t throw around nonsense labels like that. My brother-in-law, Vince, was married for about six months ten years ago to an actress who decided that being a wife and mother weren’t for her. He’s an actor, as is my sister, but they are much better suited to each other. They met on the set of my movie, Plain Jane, last year. I wrote and directed it. It didn’t make much money, but I did win a globe for it.
When I get to Suite 109, I unlock the door and push it open. It takes me a second to realize what I am seeing and hearing. Music floats from the phone on the bed while a naked girl dances to the beat. It’s the most sensuous thing I’ve ever seen.
“Excuse me sir. I have your bags,” Paul says from behind me, but I only move to ensure he can’t see her. The girl looks up, her body stops moving, and then she screams.
Shit. Not the reaction I was hoping for.
“Ariana!” Another voice shouts coming through the adjoining room’s door. Twins, but not without their subtle differences. Differences that make all the difference in the world.
“Savage?” the naked one, Ariana, asks, confused. “Not Savage? What are you doing here?”
“Fuck. I was given the key by the front desk. I’m Aric Holbrook, Savage is my twin brother. I’m so sorry to have disturbed you.”
“Stop looking at me, please,” she says, scrambling for the robe tossed on the end of the bed. The short leopard-printed silky number doesn’t really cover much up, though.
“Get out,” the other girl says.
“Right. Fuck. I’m sorry,” I say, backing out of the room and shutting the door behind me.
“What was that about?” Paul asks.
“Just a little mix-up at the front desk. Wait here. I’ll be right back,” I say, moving away from the room. I continue to move away even when everything in me is telling me not to go.
While I am waiting in line to speak to the receptionist again, Ariana comes downstairs and stands next to me. I watch as she scans the room, sees me, and then walks over to me in slow-motion. She’s dressed now but in a little sundress and flip-flops.
“Hello, again, angel,” I murmur. She looks at me intently before clearing her throat. The sound is small and lady-like, but for some reason, it makes me think of all kinds of things. Things I shouldn’t be thinking about in public. I adjust my dick in my pants as discreetly as I can, but her eyes follow my movement. Whoops.
“I’m sorry about that, Aric. I’ve… Just…a man hasn’t ever seen me naked before. I didn’t mean to scream like that,” she says. I groan. Surely, she’s not telling me that she’s a goddamn virgin, is she?
“What? God, it was gross, wasn’t it?” she asks, her cheeks turning bright red.
“What? Good God, no. Fuck, I mean, no. You’re gorgeous, Ariana,” I stammer. I don’t have a way with the ladies, no matter what the press says.
“Is there a problem with your room, Mr. Holbrook?” Natalie asks as we step up to the counter in front of her.
“You could say that.”
“It’s my room,” Ariana says.
“Please hang on,” Natalie says before typing on her keyboard briskly. “Yeah, ooh, I see what happened here. We double booked. There are no other rooms to be had. Ms. Blair’s wedding has booked us up for the week. I can try the hotel down the mountain, but I am sure it will be booked solid as well. Is everything okay with the bridal suite, Ms. Blair?”
“Yes. It’s lovely. Thank you.”
“You’re getting married?” I blurt out, ready to kill her fiancé. Whoa. Reign it in, Holbrook.
“What? No, not me. My sister, Arina, is the bride.”
“Oh. Thank God,” I mutter. I hear Ariana’s little gasp when I do, and I know she’s not unaffected by me.
“It’s alright. We’ll work something out,” Ariana says to Natalie. She grabs my hand and moves me away from the counter.
“I’m sorry about this. I told my sister I didn’t want to come but she never listens.”
“Sister’s never do,” she says, laughing.
“No, they don’t.”
“I can bunk with Arina until Saturday and then I was moving into the groom’s room anyway. You take the room.”
“I couldn’t do that. Your sister is going to want her privacy leading up to the big day. I can room my with sister’s family.”
“I couldn’t do that. Let’s just be adults about this. That’s a big ole bed. I think we can manage to keep our to own side.”