Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“No drama,” Milo told him.
“Royal, please,” Merce said behind me as if we were the only ones in the room.
“See!” Topher exclaimed. “I knew it! I missed it!”
“Shut up,” Cody drawled.
I turned back around to see Merce still standing where I’d left him, his eyes on me. If I had loved him, this would be hard. I’d feel something. But there wasn’t anything stirring in my chest.
“Like I said, it’s all been said,” I told him, then gave a nod to Milo to let him know I was ready to get this thing started.
• Six •
Come on, Ace. You know you want to.
Sebastian
Hattie Dolvin was currently in Paris on a photo shoot for her father’s cosmetic line. She was returning next week and had invited me to a new release party for one of her father’s products. The same one she was modeling for now. It had been entirely too easy. We’d flirted some at different events we both attended, but never anything more. It seemed one call from me was all she’d been waiting on.
I finished the drink in front of me and set it down just as the bartender returned. Royal hadn’t lied to me about having plans tonight. She wasn’t at the pool hall. Hattie had taken a hell of a lot less work to hook than Royal. I wasn’t going to be able to tail her again. She’d be looking next time. I needed a plan, and right now, I hadn’t come up with shit.
“Another one?” the bartender asked.
He was the one who had been talking to Royal last weekend. I could tell he remembered me.
“The blonde last weekend, the one hustling the guys at pool,” I began.
His expression tightened, and he said nothing as he continued to pour my whiskey.
“She come here often?”
He set my drink down in front of me. “Lots of blondes come through here. I talk to them all.”
I smirked. “You know who I’m talking about. The pool hustler.”
He glanced around, and then his eyes came back to mine. “No hustling happens here.”
Liar. He knew goddamn well that she had hustled those men. He was protecting her. That damn face and body made men do stupid things.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m just curious. That’s all.”
He placed both his hands on the bar, and his jaw stood out as if he was clenching his teeth. I was pissing him off.
“I’m Rodney McVeagh. I own the place. Like I said, lots of blondes come through here. Whoever that girl was last week—”
“Royal.” I supplied her name, and he appeared pained that I knew it.
Not a very good bullshitter, Rodney.
“You know her name,” he said, then inhaled deeply and released it. “Look, Royal is a good girl. She’s got a lot on her, and she handles it better than most men I know. She don’t need, uh, someone, uh, like you coming around her.”
Ouch. What the fuck had I done to Rodney?
“Someone like me being what exactly, Rodney?” I asked, then took a drink from my glass, curious as to what had made the man dislike me.
His eyes darted around again. He was uneasy. “You know …” he said.
It didn’t really matter what Rodney thought about me. Not really. I just wanted him to give me some idea of when Royal might be walking back in those doors. I figured I could convince him I was safe.
“I come from a family that breeds and races thoroughbred horses. On Sunday, we eat brunch at my grandmother’s house with the rest of the family. It’s a big, tight-knit Southern bunch. I was raised to work in the family business. I love horses and racing.
“I’m just curious about Royal. She intrigues me. I’d like to get to know her.”
I’d laid it on thick. Taken the truth and made it sound pretty.
His brows drew together. “That might be the case, but Royal, she’s worth protecting. She’s already messed around with one like you. Wealthy, elitist, someone who has no idea what she’s been through or the life she’s been forced to live. My fiancée would slit my throat if I didn’t try and keep Royal safe from any more pain. Her little sister is Royal’s best friend. They grew up together. She’s watched Royal struggle her entire life. Your kind will never understand or respect her the way she deserves.”
His fierce expression as he spoke about her made me want to believe him. But the darkness of the world was often wrapped up in a pretty package to deceive. Being blinded by beauty was a mistake I couldn’t afford.
“Okay,” I said. “I can respect that. But you still don’t know me.”
He shifted his feet, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “No, I don’t. Just like I don’t know where the bloodstains in my parking lot came from. And I should, but my security cameras seemed to have missed that.”