Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
He hadn’t been looking forward to seeing her before tonight, but he’d never imagined looking into her eyes would send pain slicing through his ribs and stabbing straight into his heart. He was a twenty-nine-year-old man who had dated some of the most beautiful women on the planet, for God’s sake, not some lovesick kid. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening to him.
Tulsi was beautiful, but not that beautiful. The blond curls and big blue eyes were killer, but her bow-tie lips were thin and her chin came to a point too close to her square jaw. She was a good six inches shorter than the women Pike dated, and the proportions of her petite frame were far from ideal. Her torso was almost as long as her legs, her thighs bordered on stocky, and she had the strangest feet he’d ever seen—short, stubby, and nearly as wide as they were long.
The moment he’d seen those feet hanging off the tailgate, he’d known it was Tulsi lying in the truck on the side of the road.
How he’d once adored those weird little feet. He’d loved to get them in his lap after he and Tulsi went riding, to feel her cold toes warming between his fingers and to watch her size five’s disappear into his large hands. He could still remember the way she’d moan when he’d massage the curve of her arches, still see that smile that dimpled her cheeks as she’d lean in to whisper that he had magic hands. And then she would kiss a trail from his jaw to his lips and the foot massage would end with his tongue slipping into her mouth and her hands sliding up the front of his shirt, and in minutes, he would have Tulsi naked on the old mattress they’d smuggled out to her parents’ cabin, making love to her until she cried out his name in her sweet, sexy voice.
Pike’s eyes squeezed closed as a fresh wave of pain flashed through his chest. He didn’t want to remember anything about Tulsi, but he couldn’t forget a moment of that perfect spring, no matter how hard he’d tried.
“Fuck,” he cursed beneath his breath as the pain intensified, until if felt like an animal was sharpening its claws on his heart.
“I know you hate these things, but you have to relax,” Mia said, mercifully misunderstanding the reason for his foul mouth. “We’ll get through the schmoozing tonight, and then it will be all fun and games until the wedding. I promise.”
“Right.” He didn’t know how he was going to get through the next seven hours, let alone the next seven days. The urge to turn tail and run was almost all-consuming, and nothing but a once in a lifetime event, like his baby sister’s wedding, could have convinced him to stay in this town a second longer.
“How many people are going to be here again?” he asked, trying to concentrate on something other than memories of Tulsi’s fingers digging into his back and her body tight around him.
“Two hundred,” Mia said, hurrying on when he cussed again. “But a lot of them are people we went to school with. Just think of it as a high school reunion with more autographing involved.”
“Sounds fucking awful,” Pike grumbled as Mia parked the car.
“Watch your mouth, Cranky.” Mia punched him in the arm, but Pike didn’t flinch. He welcomed his sister’s abuse. Maybe physical pain would keep his mind off of the miserable situation in his chest.
“Seriously, Pike, some of Dad’s friends are here, too,” Mia continued. “Don’t embarrass him, okay? Just play nice, drink a reasonable amount of champagne, and enjoy the fancy snacks. It’ll all be over before you know it, and we can go have nachos at my place. Ugly Ross and Sawyer are going to the store to pick up beer and poker chips so we can play cards.”
“Ross and Sawyer, that it?” Pike slammed out of the door, waiting until Mia joined him before starting toward the striped tent set up beside the oldest part of Old Town.
Mia nodded. “Yeah, Bubba’s not flying in until the morning of the wedding. I asked Tulsi, but she has to get Clem ready to go to camp tomorrow.”
Pike’s jaw clenched at the mention of Tulsi’s daughter, but he managed to keep his voice neutral. “That’s all right. I’m not going to be up to a big crowd after this nightmare anyway.”
This time, Mia pinched him. “Be nice. Last warning. And put your smile on before we go inside.”
Pike grimaced down at his sister, earning himself an amused snort.
“Pretty,” she said wryly. “Now I see why you couldn’t find a date for the wedding.”
Pike grunted. “I didn’t want a date. I wanted to spend time with you, you abusive jerk.”
Mia’s eyes softened. “Aw, I love you, too, big brother. And I appreciate you doing this so much. I promise not to hit you any more tonight.”