Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“I would have let you hold Beck, but he takes forever to go down. He’ll sleep for ages once he’s there though.”
“It’s okay. I’m moving back, so lots of little baby snuggles from now on.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Moving back? Since when?”
“Officially a few weeks ago. But today is my first day in the city.”
Katherine went straight to the wine fridge and popped a bottle of champagne. She poured each of us a glass and passed one to me. “To my Whitley returning home.”
I laughed and took a sip of the bubbly. “Thanks.”
“Who else have you seen? Just English? Lark?”
“English and … Gavin.”
Katherine shot me a mischievous look. “Indeed. Gavin King. This sounds familiar.”
“We ran into each other downstairs. I’m staying in the hotel, and he was here for a meeting.”
“Coincidental then,” she said with a conspiratorial smile on her red-painted lips.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“Why not? Should I not hope for my friends to be happy?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated. Robert and I dated before and after Gavin and I got together. I tore their friendship apart.”
Katherine waved a hand. “That was years ago. Robert is happily dating Harmony.”
I jolted. I hadn’t heard that. “Harmony? Really? I thought they were just friends.”
“They were, but I gave them the push they needed, and now … voilà.”
“You’re such a little matchmaker,” I said with a laugh.
I had no feelings for Robert anymore. We’d been doomed long before I called it off at Christmas and hooked up with Gavin. Our fate was sealed when he found out at Fashion Week. But I’d never thought he’d end up with Harmony.
“So, let me give you a little push too,” Katherine said. She put her hand on mine. “Don’t make the mistake that I did with Camden.”
“What? Moon over someone else for so long that he thinks I hate him?”
Katherine rolled her eyes. “Let’s keep Penn Kensington out of this, why don’t we?”
I laughed. “Can we leave matchmaking to later then too? Until I’ve been in the city for more than a few hours? I don’t know what I want here, Katherine.”
“Fine. I’ll allow you to figure it out on your own, but I’m always here to give you good advice. As you did for me once. And look, I have two beautiful babies because of that advice.”
“Yes, thank god I told you to fuck your husband.”
“I need no such advice now.” Katherine’s eyes roamed down my front. “Now, may I dispense some fashion advice?”
I shook my head. “Oh god, let’s not. This was a joke. Wait, can I raid your closet?”
Katherine’s eyes glittered with delight. “It would be my pleasure to get you out of that ridiculous dress.” Her fingers went to my hair. “And please … let me get you in with my stylist.”
“I like the purple.”
Katherine sighed, as if I were such an inconvenience. “If you say so.”
“You’re such a snob.”
“Yes. That’s why you like me.”
“It is.”
We went back upstairs with the champagne as Katherine dressed me like I was her rag doll for tonight. It kept my mind off of what was coming next. I’d have to figure out what to do about Gavin, but not yet. Not quite yet.
4
GAVIN
Work dragged the rest of the day. It was impossible not to anticipate going out that evening and watch the clock tick slowly by. By the time five o’clock rolled around, I practically vaulted out of my top-floor office.
The building was located across the street from Kensington Corporation. I crossed the street in a hurry and was about to enter the building when Court Kensington stepped outside with Sam Rutherford. Sam was an attorney for Court’s company and had turned our trio into a quartet after hustling us in our weekly poker match a few years back.
We’d taken to getting a beer after work before we left for our respective homes. Court back to English. Sam to his wife, Larkin St. Vincent. And me … to my empty apartment. A fact that had only started bothering me in the last year. Well, before that, I’d always been sure to keep a steady flow of women in it.
Sam clapped me on the back. “So, you heard.”
I glared at Court. “Does everyone know but me?”
Court shrugged. “Pretty much.”
“You’re all assholes.”
Sam laughed. “Why? Should we have told you?”
“I don’t even know why I put up with your shit.”
“Because we’re your only friends,” Court said. “Now, tell us what happened.”
“Nothing happened,” I said as we entered our usual pub.
Court ordered a round, and we sank into seats at the bar.
Sam gave me a disbelieving look. “I remember when I saw Lark for the first time.”
“You were engaged to someone else, dick.”
Sam held his hands up. “Yeah, but I still knew something was there.”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about this. I didn’t even know how to begin to discuss my feelings on the matter. Whitley had left. She’d left and made her feelings perfectly clear. I didn’t know if she had been lying all along when she said that we could try this out or if she’d just panicked.