Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“If I tell you something, you have to keep it between us.”
“Always,” I tell him.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Oh. Is that a bad thing?” I ask, assuming it’s not good by his ominous tone.
“She trapped him,” he says with disgust. “She said she was on birth control, but Ryder doesn’t believe her. He wanted to do the right thing, so he proposed, but shortly after, she miscarried, and I guess she sank into a depression. He felt bad, so he held off on calling off the engagement. And just before he was finally about to do it, his dumbass got drunk one night and gave in to having sex with her. She swore she was on birth control—again—and he says he used protection, but a few weeks later, she told him she was pregnant.”
“Ouch. That’s rough.”
“Yeah,” he agrees. “He thinks he needs to marry her so he can provide the baby with a loving home. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he won’t listen, so as his best friend, I’m going to support him … and when shit comes crashing down—because we all know it will—I’ll have his back.”
“You’re a good friend,” I tell him. “And don’t worry. I am actually on birth control, one that’s good for the next three years, so I won’t be trapping you.” I wink playfully, and he chuckles.
“I don’t know,” he says, pulling me into his arms. “The thought of a little hazel-eyed boy or girl running around doesn’t sound half bad.”
“It’s the sun,” I deadpan. “It’s getting to your brain and frying it.”
He barks out a laugh. “Maybe.” He backs up and lifts my hand that’s intertwined with his, giving it a kiss. “You ready? I have a feeling this rehearsal, dinner, and wedding will be nothing if not entertaining.”
“Red, baby, you gotta wake up.”
I pry my eyes open and find Julian staring down at me.
“There she is.” He smiles and then dips down, giving me a soft kiss. “I need you to get up. It’s early, but there’s somewhere I want to take you before we have to go to the airport.”
I pout at the reminder of us leaving today.
“I know,” he says, as if reading my mind. “But I promise we’ll be back, and we can stay however long you want.”
He presses his lips to mine, and I wrap my legs around him, lifting my pelvis to grind against his groin.
“Not happening, beautiful. Then, we’ll never leave, and we have to go now, or we’ll miss it.”
“Miss what?” I lift my leg so I can roll onto my stomach and hide my face in my pillow.
“It’s a surprise. Now, up!”
He smacks my ass, and I jump off the bed, glaring back as I head to the bathroom to get ready, noting that it’s still freaking dark outside.
“Dress in warm clothes and comfortable shoes,” he adds.
As I sit on the toilet, I think back to how amazing our trip has been despite having to attend the weirdest wedding I’ve ever been to.
The rehearsal, dinner, and wedding were in fact entertaining, as Julian had predicted. But not in a funny sort of way. It was like watching a horror show. Nora screamed and screeched and whined and sometimes cried. She demanded perfection, and everyone around her scrambled around, afraid of being stomped on by the evil bridezilla, while Ryder looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
On a positive note, the wedding venue was beyond beautiful and magical, and even though I’ve rarely thought about getting married, if I were to, I would want it to be like that wedding—minus the scowling bride, subdued groom, scared employees, and concerned guests.
Not that there were many guests. Aside from Ryder’s family—who I learned from Julian is one of the wealthiest families in Texas—there was Nora’s family, who were … fun, to put it nicely. Then, there were Ryder’s friends and colleagues and a couple of Nora’s mean girlfriends.
Julian and I had a good time though. We danced and drank and ate delicious food. And in between the dinner and wedding, we spent all our spare time getting lost in each other.
Yesterday, we spent the day sightseeing, visiting all the cool places and eating our weight in delicious Hawaiian delicacies. We had a wonderful dinner with my dad and Selene, and we ended the night with Julian fucking me from behind on our balcony as the sun set.
It feels like we’ve been living in a paradise bubble, and I’m dreading returning to reality, wishing we could stay here forever—which is weird since I’m a workaholic and I’ve never spent this much time off work or on vacation with someone. It probably has something to do with the dozens of orgasms Julian has given me. I’m blaming it on the large amounts of oxytocin and dopamine that have been released from my brain. And refusing to acknowledge the fact that I’m falling for Julian … hard.