Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“It’s not my place to suggest you should.”
“Good. So we’re clear on that.”
“We are. See you in a while. I have to go run some errands before tonight.”
“He said he’s picking me up,” I called out.
“Sure, which means we have to do what we did last time and trail you around. Nothing says ‘we’re going on a regular date’ like a caravan full of security surrounding an overzealous sports car.”
I laughed at his tone as he walked away and closed the door, but as time went on, I thought about what he’d said, and it dawned on me that being with the same guy for six years essentially meant that I was innocent in matters of love. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
CHAPTER 12
Pilar
I’d been thinking about whether or not to bring up the photograph to Ben. I decided against it. Firstly, I didn’t want to call attention to it if he hadn’t seen it. And secondly, I decided that I didn’t care. Maybe a local had taken the picture to sell for money they needed to feed their family. It wasn’t like I was naked. I was over it.
The doorbell rang, and even though I had been pacing the area in front of it for the last ten minutes, I stopped and just stared at it for a second. I couldn’t have him thinking I was waiting around for him. After counting to ten, I took a deep breath and walked over, unlocking and opening the door. Ben stood on the other side, wearing ripped jeans and a black T-shirt that clung to him. His dark, curly hair looked as if he’d just run his hands through it just before leaving the house, and it only added to his sex appeal.
“You look beautiful.” He smiled, eyes twinkling. “I told you to dress casual because I figured we could have a quiet dinner in my villa, but you’re making me want to take you out.”
“You can take me anywhere.” It took all of half a second for me to laugh at my overeagerness. Ben merely grinned. I licked my lips and tried again, “I mean, I don’t care where we go.”
“Let’s go to a club and see where the night takes us.” He winked. Butterflies took flight inside me.
“Okay.” I glanced behind me and found Amir standing a few feet away, looking at his phone. He glanced up when he felt my attention.
“Ready?”
“Ready,” Ben confirmed.
I followed him outside and stopped as he opened the passenger door, waiting for me to settle into the low seat before closing me in and walking to the other side of the vehicle. I watched as Amir climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV parked in front of Ben’s car. Ben got into the driver’s seat and typed something quickly on his phone.
“Amir wants me to give him our full itinerary. I guess flying by the seat of our pants won’t work with you.” He shot me a sideways glance and a sexy smile.
I wanted to tell him to forget Amir but knew that was an impossible task. The island was too small, and he’d find us in two seconds. Besides, even though I was here to escape the scrutiny and live my life for once, I couldn’t seem to shake the responsibility resting on my shoulders that came with my title and my brother being the king. Instead, I stayed quiet. I was good at that. He was quiet too, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the woman who’d confronted me earlier today. I opened my mouth to tell him about her but quickly shut it again. He should open up to me about her. Or not. It was like Amir had suggested, Ben didn’t seem to do serious relationships. If I wanted him in any capacity, I needed to keep that in mind.
He pulled up in front of the club where I’d seen him my first night here. I could hear the music blasting from inside, and we were still in the car with the windows up.
“This place?” I looked over at him.
“You didn’t like it?”
“I did.” I bit my lip. “But I also made a lot of bad decisions that night.”
“Well, I won’t let you make too many tonight. But if you do, I’m here to make sure nobody takes advantage of you.” He winked. I bit my lip harder, feeling myself blush. Ben chuckled. “What?”
“What if I want to be taken advantage of?”
“Then I would say it depends. If you mean by some random guy in there”—he raised an eyebrow, pointing toward the nightclub—”I’d say you’re out of luck because I’m not going to let that happen. If you’re insinuating what I think you are, I’m here for it.”
“Good.” I was still blushing, but I smiled. “Shall we, then?”