Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Even if I did enjoy the limited time I had touching her.
What worries me is her reaction.
When I touched her in front of everyone she visibly stiffened and that can’t happen. Not if we are going to make this believable. However, when I touched her upstairs, she was fine, until she wasn’t. She ran off to the bathroom like I set her clothes on fire. I’m not sure if she’s so hung up on that asshole, Lake, or if my touch nauseated her, but she couldn’t get away fast enough.
I need to talk to her and get her to understand this will work if we play it right. Now I’m trying to get myself to relax with a bit of liquid courage and I’m hoping she’ll do the same when she comes down.
“Hey little brother, where’s your girl?” Paxton asks, slapping my back as he raises an eyebrow.
I sip my beer and grin. “Getting ready. She’ll be down shortly.”
He thinks I’m gonna say this is all bullshit, but he’s wrong.
“This happened kinda suddenly, no?”
“No, it didn’t. I’ve always flirted with her, disguised as teasing. But when I saw her and Fake Lake together and got jealous, I knew,” I lie.
“Fake Lake?” he asks, laughing.
I lift a shoulder and lean against the bar. “The guy is a tool. I mean he cheated on Willow and hurt her. I should kick his ass, but it’s your wedding week, so I’ll be respectful.”
“Thanks for that.” He turns to face me and sighs. “Don’t hurt her for your own gain. You just said she was hurt, don’t add to it.”
Fire burns in my stomach as I stand tall and cross my arms, feeling immediately defensive and pissed. “That’s not who I am and I take offense to you suggesting differently. I’m not saying I’m in love here, but I like her a lot. We’re having fun and that’s enough for us right now.”
He holds his hands up in defense and steps back. “All right, sorry. Hartford and Anya asked me to talk to you and now I have. I’m happy for you guys. Willow is great and I’ve always had a hunch all the teasing was flirting.”
I relax a bit and finish off my beer. The lies come easily and I should probably question why, but I don’t.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Shepherd asks, pulling Felicity closer to his side.
“Who cares, where’s my nephew, August?” I ask, smiling.
“He’s in the hotel room with my mother. He’s had a busy day,” Felicity says.
You can see the love for her son in her eyes. That baby already has everyone wrapped around his finger and he’s barely a few months old.
“Hartford and Anya will be down in a minute. Brock said Willow will be down shortly. Tripp was arguing with Mom and Dad about drinking and Callum will be here in the morning,” Paxton says.
“And Fake Lake is probably banging someone in the bathroom,” I add.
“What?” Shepherd asks with a laugh.
“Nothing, ignore him. Everyone needs to hurry up because we need to get this going,” Paxton says, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“You nervous?” I ask.
“Hell yes. Not for the marriage and definitely not the Honeymoon, but the wedding is kinda overwhelming. But I promised to always make Hartford happy and this is what she wants. So, I’m dealing with it, for her.”
“That’s sweet, “ Felicity says.
Before I can make a joke, the wind gets knocked out of me. Willow walks into the bar and I’m not sure the look of shock on my face is good when trying to convince everyone we’re a couple. She looks absolutely stunning. I’ve never seen her look so incredibly sexy before. That blue dress hugs her body, showing off her every curve. It’s low cut in the front, revealing a large amount of cleavage. It’s short, just barely covering her ass, but damn it makes her legs look insane.
When I drag my eyes away from her body, I still have a hard time getting air into my lungs when I see her. Her dark makeup gives off a bad girl vibe that I’m fucking digging. Her hair is curled and frames her face perfectly.
She’s beautiful, that’s always been clear. But tonight—tonight she’s a goddess.
I step away from everyone and meet her halfway. She smiles up at me and I grin with a nod.
“Damn, Willow, you look fucking incredible,” I breathe out.
She continues to shock me when she pushes up on her toes and presses a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Thank you.”
Oh hell yes, this night is going to be better than I imagined.
“What happens if we get him really drunk, and he’s hungover?” Tripp asks, laughing.
We’re all in a huge room that Paxton rented for dinner. It’s been just over an hour and we’re all drinking and having a good time. Mainly teasing Paxton and Hartford about tomorrow.