Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
“You’re not my husband.”
“Just getting used to it.” I grin. “Wife.” Fuck, that sounds good.
“I’m a bit young to be a wife.” She circles the bruise on my chest, admiring it.
“But I’m old enough to be a husband?” I ask, insulted.
“There’s eleven years between us.” She dips and kisses my nose. Soon to be twelve. “Like it or not, you’re much older than I am.”
“Not,” I breathe, pulling her between my legs and tilting my head farther back, silently telling her to kiss me, exhaling happily when she does. “Are you sure you want to go out?” I ask around her mouth, certain this kiss could sway her.
She cups my cheeks and slows the swirl of her tongue, pulling back and dotting a few lovely pecks up my nose to my forehead. I’ve got her. I hum, happy, and squeeze her arse. “You’ll crease my dress,” she says quietly.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re not going out.”
I feel her smile where her mouth is on my forehead, and she pulls back, my cheeks still in her palms, and scans my face. “I’m going out.”
My face screws up, she removes herself from my arms, and I fall back to the mattress on a grunt. “I hope you have a wonderful time without me.”
She laughs and goes back to the dressing room. “I’m sure you have things to catch up on with Sam and Drew.”
I hitch a brow, looking at the entrance of the dressing room. “Like what?” Am I wrong? Did Kate spill the beans?
“I don’t know. Man stuff.”
“Your new necklace would look lovely with that dress.” Load her with diamonds. Tells potential creeps there’s a very wealthy, very territorial man in the wings waiting to rip their heads off. Ava appears with some heels on, and I groan, looking up at the ceiling.
“The weight of this diamond is enough responsibility.”
“Fine.” The ring is the biggest sign. “It’s really not fair for you to look like that when I’m not with you.”
“Worried some younger, hotter, less complicated man will come along and steal me from you?”
I blink. Yes. That’s exactly what I’m worried about. But instead, I say, “Hotter?” And complicated? She doesn’t know the half of it. “Baby, there is no one hotter than I am.” I rise to my feet, and her gaze follows me up. I motion down my front. “I might be thirty-seven, but I’m a banging thirty-seven. And don’t say shit like that.” I go to the dressing room and pull on some jeans, now even moodier, buttoning the fly as I go to the doorway, finding her fluffing her hair in the mirror. “And for the record, I will kill any unfortunate fucker who thinks they can have you.”
She looks at me in the reflection, a small smile tickling her lips. “You mean anyone who takes me away from you.”
“Or that,” I agree, reversing my steps and grabbing some boots and a T-shirt, slipping them on.
When I’m ready I get some cash and motion to the door, but she doesn’t leave and instead comes to me, hands on my chest. “No one is going to take me away from you.”
I take her hand and kiss the sparkling gem on her finger as I look into her eyes, nodding mildly, feeling more in love with her than ever before. “I suppose we better get going,” I say, hitching a hopeful brow.
“We had.” She removes herself from my space. “I just need to change my handbag and earrings.”
I trudge off, grumpy. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.” What the hell am I going to do all night?
41
Kate is full of beans when she hops in the car, gushing all over the Aston. I pull out and look up at my rearview mirror when she wedges herself between the seats, a shock of red blocking my view out the back window. “Come on then, let’s have a look.”
“What?” Ava looks back at Kate, and Kate looks at me, cursing, her eyes wide.
“It’s fine.” I put her mind at ease, turning onto the main road, feeling Ava’s incredulous stare on my profile.
“She knew?”
“I needed one of your rings to make sure the size was right.”
Ava lets me off the hook and aims her grievance on her friend. “You knew?”
“Yep.” Kate makes grabby hands at Ava. “Was it romantic? Show me.”
Ava obliges, but she’s laughing, accusing eyes on me. I ignore her. I thought it was very romantic. And, like I said, memorable. “Yeah, it was romantic,” Ava says, her voice breathy with the tail end of her laugh.
“Fucking hell,” Kate blurts, her nose nearly touching the diamond. “That is some serious special.” She flips me an impressed look, and my chest swells with pride. I did good. “So, when’s the wedding?” she asks, sitting back and faffing with her handbag. Next month. “Shit, Ava.” Kate looks up again. “Have you told your mum and dad?”