Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
“Love your skirt!”
We hug again. “Missed you, Anni.”
“Missed you, too, future sis-in-law.”
Right.
We’re that now.
I reluctantly let her go and wrap my arms around Creigh. “Hi, you.”
He barely returns the hug before he’s pulled back and Eli starts to envelop him in an embrace. “What a very pleasant surprise, little bro.”
Creigh pushes him away. He somehow looks different now. He’s happier, I guess, thanks to the fireball of sunshine that is Anni. He’s been a changed man since she came into his life.
She altered him for the better, despite all the odds that were stacked against them.
Ari says Anni is like her role model because she got the guy who had absolutely no interest in her in the beginning and even considered her annoying. She takes notes from her.
Not me.
Since I’m obviously a failure.
“You knew we were coming,” Creigh tells his brother.
“In the afternoon. Does it look like teatime to you?”
“Every time is teatime.”
“You need to work on your disastrous timing.”
A rare smirk lifts Creigh’s lips. “I have my dear old brother to blame.”
Eli looks like he’s contemplating punching Creigh, but then he wraps an arm around his shoulders and shakes him roughly. “Did I say how much I missed you?”
“Not in the past…” Creigh checks his watch. “Ten hours.”
“I’ll only say it again next month, due to your poor timing.”
“Don’t think you’ll survive that long.” Creigh smiles at me. “Anni wanted to spend time with you. Want to join us?”
“Absolutely!”
“Not,” Eli finishes.
I glare at him. “I’m going out with them.”
“Not in that skirt.”
“It’s perfectly acceptable.”
“For the bedroom. In case you didn’t notice, there are kids in the streets.”
“Pretty sure that’s not what you’re worried about,” Creigh mutters under his breath.
Eli pokes him in the side. “You’re uncharacteristically chatty today, little bro.”
He pokes him back. “Only for you, brother dearest.”
Eli’s cold eyes send icy spikes in my direction. “Either you change or you don’t go out.”
I want to defy him just for the hell of it, but I could really use some friends and a change of routine. Real friends, not fake-ass ones who are easily threatened by the resident prick.
Not gracing him with a response, I shove past him toward the stairs.
He is so going to regret this.
I have the perfect plan for a long overdue payback.
11
AVA
Anni and I spend the entire morning shopping in Bond Street, gushing over all the exclusive beauties we get our hands on and boosting each other’s confidence through the roof.
Creigh is bored out of his mind the entire time and he lets us know that with his constant sighs of disapproval and “Are you done yet?” His attitude only changes when Anni walks out of the fitting room wearing a purple spaghetti-strap dress that hugs her petite curves.
He definitely isn’t bored then, and judging by the heated, dark look in his eyes, I’m surprised he doesn’t undress her then and there.
Talk about fiery chemistry.
The type I’ll never have.
I ignore the images from this morning and even last night because that’s the wrong type of person to have that chemistry with. Once upon a time, my fantasy was being whisked away by a dark knight, but now, I want to have a normal Prince Charming, thank you very much.
Besides, I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing a few times when Eli touched me, so it was more of a hazard than anything enjoyable. Which is why I’m content being my friends’ third wheel today. I’m willing to try anything to escape Eli’s orbit and my own head.
After we fill the car with shopping bags, Creigh drags us to a sushi place owned by a famous chef in South Ken.
The restaurant is situated downstairs and we’re given their best table, across from the colorful Japanese mural art. The bright pink of the sakura flowers slithering around a black dragon makes me swoon.
So I take a selfie of the three of us, then make Creigh take a dozen pictures of Anni and me as we pose and air-kiss. He gets bored after five minutes and forces us to sit back down and order.
Pretty sure Uncle Aiden owns part of this place and delegates its management to a different company. Creigh only had to give his name to get in, while people normally have to book months in advance to secure a spot.
And while the King name can open any door, Creigh doesn’t use it much. His brother, however, throws it around whenever possible to force people to their knees in front of him.
But then again, that devil has an obnoxiously terrific sense of making money. Might have to make do with his unfeeling nature.
“So.” I take a sip of my yuzu water and smile at Creigh and Anni, who are sitting across from me. “How long are you guys staying in London?”
“Maybe a week.” Anni gathers some of her sashimi with her chopsticks and places them on the plate in front of Creigh, who, in turn, shares some of his sushi with her.