Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“I am.”
“How did you land Jace?”
“Mel!” Sammy gasps, then her eyes come to me. “Ignore her. She’s my best friend, but sometimes she doesn’t know how to filter what comes out of her mouth.”
“It’s just a question.” Mel shrugs. “I mean, I saw the last girl he was dating on IG, and she was a model.”
“You mean you were stalking Jace and sniffed out the girl he was dating?” She rolls her eyes before turning her attention back to me. “Mel’s been coming with me to our family reunion since we were like ten, and since then, she’s been in love with Jace.”
“I’ve never been in love with him. I’ve just always thought he was hot,” she tells me, and I rub my lips together. I mean, I could be offended and even annoyed by her honesty, but since I get why she would be fascinated by him and confused as to why he would be with me, I shrug it off.
“I’m going to steal my fiancée, if that’s okay?” Jace’s deep voice rumbles, sending relief through me, then his warm hand slides around my waist. “Are you ready to take off?”
“Yeah.” I tip my head back to meet his gaze, and his fingers bite into my skin, causing my breath to catch in the back of my throat.
“You two are so cute,” Sammy whispers.
“Yeah, cute,” Mel adds, and I catch Jace’s expression become annoyed before I turn to look at Sammy.
“It was nice meeting you.” I then glance at Mel. “I’m sure I’ll see you two around this week.”
“Absolutely.” Sammy smiles, while Mel stares at Jace.
“Later,” Jace mutters, grabbing my hand and leading me away without another word.
After earlier, I didn’t think I would be looking forward to the two of us being alone again, but now I’m more than ready to get out of here and away from everyone else.
“Thanks for saving me,” I tell him when we get inside the boathouse, and he lets my hand go.
“I would have earlier, but every time I got a step closer to you, someone else would come up to talk to me.” He walks back toward me, holding one of the life vests that had been hanging on the handle of the jet ski. When he hands it to me, I start to put it on but only get it over one arm before the rumble of a motor vibrates the building. Then a jet ski comes around the corner with a solo rider.
Even without being able to see the guy’s eyes behind his sunglasses, I can tell he’s good looking, and it’s not because his body is tan and he’s obviously muscular. No my observation is based solely on the thickness of his dark hair, the cut of his jaw, his full lips, and the arch of his nose.
As soon as he comes to a stop, a very attractive grin forms on his face, and he slides the shades covering his eyes up into his hair. Yep, definitely good-looking.
“Mom said you were here, motherfucker.” He jumps off his seat onto the dock in one swift move, then rushes Jace, giving him a bear hug. I stand back and watch the two of them embrace, then smile when the guy’s eyes come to me. “Shut the fuck up.” He lets Jace go so he can point at me.
“Ian, this is my fiancée, Penny. Penny, my cousin Ian.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ian repeats, dropping his eyes to my hand. “Mom said you were engaged, and I told her she was smoking something. When the fuck did this happen?”
“A couple months ago,” Jace tells him, and I know in that instant that Ian isn’t buying it. The look on his face changes from playful to serious, and when his eyes come to me, they are filled with suspicion.
“We just got engaged a couple days before we came here for the reunion. We’ve been seeing each other for a few months.” I glare at Jace. “Or maybe I thought we were together when we actually weren’t.”
“A few months? I thought you were dating that chick Anna a few months ago.”
Ugh, that information should not annoy me as much as it does. First, because I didn’t even know Jace a few months ago, and second, this is not real!
“Anna was before me,” I cut in so Jace doesn’t have to come up with something, because Lord knows what would come out of his mouth. “We met right after they broke up.”
“You’re moving kind of fast, don’t you think?” Ian looks at his cousin. “You just started dating, and you’re already engaged?”
“Don’t worry. We plan on having a very, very long engagement,” I assure him to try to put his mind as ease.
“Not that long,” Jace says, and I sigh in exasperation. “Just saying, princess. I don’t plan on waiting a year to make you my wife.”