Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 227851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1139(@200wpm)___ 911(@250wpm)___ 760(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 227851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1139(@200wpm)___ 911(@250wpm)___ 760(@300wpm)
“Oh. And will the members renew under the new owners?”
“Yes.” I laugh. “If they like playing golf.”
“Golf?”
“The grounds are being converted into an eighteen-hole golf course.”
“Wow. What about the sports facilities?”
“They’re all staying. It’ll be pretty impressive.” The plans to be submitted to planning were something else. Almost made me want to take up golf. But, I won’t. I know I can never step foot through those gates ever again. “Not much different to my setup, except the private suites really will be hotel rooms and the communal room will serve as a conference room for businesses.” I had to laugh when I was shown those particular plans. The communal room. No longer packed full of naked, sexually adventurous, hedonistic professionals, but now packed full of . . . well, they might be hedonistic. But they’ll be dressed. And at work.
“So that’s it, then?” she asks.
“That’s it.” No more talk of The Manor. “Now, I need to get you ready for the rest of your day.” I try to get up and go nowhere.
“I need to freshen up my mark,” she says, eyeing my pec. “And you need to work on mine too.”
Fuck, I’d love to, but I just heard a car coming down the driveway, which means people are arriving. “We’ll do it later, baby.” I quickly get up, which isn’t so quickly these days, my insides tugging, and set Ava aside. “Go take a shower.” I look over my shoulder to the windows as I spank her arse, directing her toward the bathroom. She goes with ease, thank God, and I quickly wrap a towel around my waist and go out the doors, spotting Drew, barefoot, wading through the sand at the end of the garden. “Hey,” I whisper-shout. “You’re early.”
“Fucking sand everywhere,” he mutters, flapping the front of his shirt.
“My man!” Sam sings, dragging a cooler box with him.
“Shhhh,” I hiss.
“Where is she?” Kate calls.
I slap a palm on my forehead. “My God,” I breathe, shooing them off, pointing down the beach. They all look. All hunch their shoulders, realizing, holding their fingers to their lips like, yes, okay, we can be quiet. Off they go, just as Amalie rounds the corner, Dr. David in tow. “Where’s Mum and Dad?” I call quietly.
“Dad disappeared for half an hour,” Amalie yells, and I show the sky my palms, exasperated, hoping the shower is blocking out the noise for Ava. “He came back with a diamond bracelet for Mum. You should see her face.”
My eyebrows jump up. And I smile. Spoiling her. I’m happy.
“You know,” Amalie goes on, her volume still too high, “the replanning of our wedding is costing slightly more than we anticipated.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I bet.”
She gives me an impish grin. “Love you, brother.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I mumble, backing up. “Go.”
I go to the wardrobe and pick out a dress for Ava. Lace. A bit short, perhaps, but I’ll deal with it. Then I pull some shorts on. White. Will she cotton on?
My finger touches my new wound, tracing the length of it. No tingles. I bite at my lip as I move my finger to the old wound. Trace that too. No tingles. I smile and go to the kitchen, looking out of the window, seeing Joseph and Elizabeth getting out of a cab. I hardly suppress my groan when Dan appears too. I inwardly call him every name under the sun as I nip out the front to direct them round the back. Elizabeth squeals when she spots me, but soon shuts up when I raise a finger to my lips, looking back into the villa nervously. My God, does everyone we know not understand the element of surprise? Ava’s parents creep off, but Dan remains, hands in his pockets watching them go. What’s he hanging back for? “All right?” I ask.
As soon as Elizabeth and Joseph are out of range, he comes to me, holding his hand out. I don’t miss the brief drop of his eyes to my stomach. I swear, if he mentions anything about what happened, I can’t promise I’ll hold back. I take his hand tentatively and let him do all the shaking. “Take care of her,” he says.
What can I say? Tell him not to insult me? There have been numerous nights I’ve woken up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. It’s always the same dream. Or more reliving one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Walking into the penthouse and seeing Ava bent over, hysterical, and seeing my ex-wife wielding a knife. I shudder on the spot, pushing it back. My lack of honesty put Ava in that situation, and I will never forgive myself for that. “I’ll take care of her,” I murmur, breaking our hands. “Thanks for coming.” I had no choice but to invite him. And pay for his airfare. “And, Dan,” I say, as I back away. “Stay away from Kate and Sam.”