Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Nic, where’s the wine?” Marjorie’s impatient voice floated down from the top of the stairs.
We sprung apart. I felt woozy and overwhelmed, like I had heat stroke despite the coolness of the basement. Dominic just looked pissed, but somehow his voice came out level when he called back, “Almost done.”
He shook his head at me as we heard her footsteps retreat. “Why the hell did we invite them?”
“Our family?” I laughed. “We didn’t. They invited me.”
“Next time I’m only inviting you. My place. Bring a pie.”
I laughed again, like he was kidding, but my heart swelled up with joy anyway as he handed me two bottles of red to carry, then grabbed two whites at random. Maybe he wasn’t kidding. Maybe he really did see the two of us together this time next year. Maybe I’d wake up in his arms and we’d drive to Marjorie’s house together, and we’d meet Jake and Christi, and–
The fantasy was too sweet to sustain for long though. Especially since, in the here and now, we had to keep our distance. Sitting across from him at Marjorie’s beautifully decorated table was every bit as torturously exquisite as I had imagined it would be. We made small talk about work and Mrs. Kloss’s Christmas ball, all the while careful not to look into each other’s eyes for too long.
Christi and Jake didn’t bother hiding anything, and I could tell Marjorie didn’t know what to make of it. Her perfect, golden, med school son was besotted with a twenty-one-year-old pregnant girl who worked at a coffee shop and told Marjorie she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life, but she was starting to think she might want to be an event planner.
“I love helping Mrs. Kloss,” Christi said enthusiastically, looking over at me. “It’s so fun to put all the pieces together, isn’t it, Selena?”
I nodded. It was fun. I liked creating the financial framework for something fun like a Christmas ball as opposed to something dreary, like someone’s stock portfolio. I wished Dominic would lighten up on the budget, but I even liked working within the constraints of it. It forced us to be creative instead of taking the easiest path that was inevitably the most expensive.
“You couldn’t plan the Christmas ball as a career though,” Marjorie said, frowning. “Could you?”
I saw Jake bristle, but before he could say anything, Christi was smoothly explaining to Marjorie how she could make event planning her career. At first, I was impressed by how easily she bullshitted a five-step plan, but then I realized she wasn’t making it up. She’d really put thought into this. I saw grudging respect on Marjorie’s face as Christi outlined how she was going to reach her ultimate goal of having her own event planning business
“Oh, and Selena would be my partner, of course,” she concluded, spearing a green bean and popping it into her mouth. “She’d make sure I was staying on budget,” she said with a conspiratorial grin.
Dominic raised his eyebrows at me. “You would?”
“I would,” I agreed. I did so mostly because I didn’t want to disagree with my sister in front of Marjorie, who actually looked somewhat impressed. But I also agreed because if we could actually get something like this off the ground, it would be fun. It would combine my reluctant talent for financial management with something creative and interesting, and best of all, I’d get to work with my sister.
Later, as I helped Dominic with the dishes in the kitchen while Christi kept Marjorie occupied in the living room, he murmured, “So you’re leaving me already, Selena?”
I knew what he was talking about. “It’s a good plan, isn’t it? And it resolves some complications. I can’t keep working for you, if…”
Dominic’s eyes went hot. “Not fast enough. Can you keep this event planning business to turn a profit before tonight?”
I shook my head regretfully. “No, if that’s what we’re waiting for–”
Dominic glanced over my head to make sure the others were still safely sequestered in the den at the back of the house, then backed me against the cabinets, a hand gripping the granite countertop on either side. “That’s not what we’re waiting for,” he murmured against my lips. His gaze dropped to my throat, and his mouth followed.
I was still holding a plate in one hand, a dish towel in the other. I set them down hastily before the sound of breaking China could summon the others. When Dominic kissed me like that, so hungrily, I had a hard time remembering who I was. Who was around. I slipped into a world where it was just the two of us, where he could keep kissing me and I could lose myself completely in him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the strength of his shoulders and the muscles in his neck beneath my hands. I arched my back, wanting to feel his hands slip beneath my sweater again, roam higher, find the lacy bra I’d worn just because I thought he might see it tonight.