Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“Ah. Okay. So… Wow.”
Laughing, I pull through the gate once the man opens it, and we head toward the front, parking beside one of the elaborate fountains.
She sits still in her seat, acting as though she’s too scared to get out, and I make my way to her door to open it.
“Uh-uh,” she says while shaking her head. “I’m not going in there wearing your shirt while my hair is wet and destroyed.”
She looks sexy as hell in my opinion.
“If you don’t come in, they’ll come out and get you. Come on. No one is going to care what you’re wearing.”
She glares at me, looking pretty damn cute, and climbs out of the car. Her eyes go up the tall home, taking in the intricate designs all over the structure. It’s meant for royalty. Of course, in Sterling Shore, Paul Colton is royalty.
“He work from home, too?” she asks dryly, and I can’t help but laugh.
I wait until we’re inside, ushered in by Henry—the newest butler—before answering her.
“Nah. He owns Colton Fashion.”
She tries to plant her feet in the ground, but I tug her hand in mine, forcing her to move or lose her arm.
“You can’t seriously mean that Colton,” she hisses while stumbling, following me against her will when I keep tugging. “I can’t be here looking like this in front of a fashion god. It’s—”
“Wren,” Uncle Paul says, grinning when he sees the struggling girl at my side, “I thought you were here. And I take it you abducted someone?”
Allie stops struggling while her cheeks beam a glowing red. “This is Allie Thrash. Angel’s mom.”
Allie tries smoothing her wet hair into place, and Uncle Paul grins while closing the distance between them and extending his hand toward her.
“I take it you’ve been to see Rye and Brin already?” he muses, which earns a grin from Allie as she quickly shakes his hand and releases it.
“Yeah. Got sucked in.”
He laughs while nodding. “We drove by earlier while they were filling up water balloons on either side of the house. Margaret decided we’d keep driving instead of stopping.”
“Wise,” Allie says under her breath.
“They’re definitely entertaining. We were going over there to talk to Rye and thank him for getting his father out of the house more. I’ve always respected Rygan, but he got a bad hand. Rygan came over earlier to talk to me, which is good. He’s coming to the Christmas party this weekend because Rye asked him to. It’s really great to hear.”
Allie looks a little out of the loop, so I make a mental note to explain what I can later.
“See?” I ask, smiling. “Everyone knows you went to see Rye and Brin if you show up looking like you just went to war.”
She grins while blushing deeper, seeming shy now.
“Raya and Kade are in the middle of, well, a bit of drama right now,” Uncle Paul says with that enigmatic grin just before we hear yelling.
Allie quickly gets closer to my side when the sounds get louder, and she wraps both of her arms around one of mine just as Kade walks in with Raya over his shoulder.
“Kade Colton, don’t you dare! It’s December! You cannot just toss me in the pool!” Raya yells, pounding on his back ineffectively while hanging upside down.
Her hair flops against him while he smiles like a smug bastard. He continues moving toward the pool that is just through the glass doors on our right, leaving the doors open as he stomps through.
“When you cool down, come and find me,” he says as he starts to toss her, but the crafty girl grabs his shirt, forcing him forward when he loses his balance, and they both topple into the heated pool.
Water splashes high as a yelp and a squeal echo through the house.
“Damn. What happened?” I ask while snickering.
“Raya wants to elope now, but Kade refuses to let her get married without a wedding that she’ll love for the rest of her life. Yep. Margaret has driven her so crazy that Raya wants to sneak away and elope.”
My laughter rolls out, and Allie eyes me curiously, clearly amused. Shaking my head, I try to remember the task at hand. We have a lot to do.
“Mom said you had her Christmas cards.”
He walks over to the side table, pulls back the drawer, and retrieves several stacks of cards.
“My secretary mixed them up with mine when she picked them up from the store. Apparently Melanie put ours and hers all under her name when she had them ordered without realizing that would cause confusion. You heading over there now?”
“Tag’s place first. He asked me to stop by and check out a new deal he’s signing. I’m a silent partner in the business with him, and he wants to make sure I’m good with all his notes before we sign on the dotted line. Then we’re heading back to Rye’s to reattempt our original mission, then to Mom’s.”