Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Uhhh . . . going for a swim.”
Her gaze narrows with a deep suspicion. “I’ve known you all my life, Izaac, and I don’t think you’ve ever come for a swim with me.”
“Bullshit. We swim all the time.”
“Without Austin?” she challenges. “I’d go as far as to accuse you of purposefully avoiding swimming with me.”
She’s not wrong.
Her eyes sparkle, and for just a second, I could have sworn she was flirting with me. But that couldn’t be right. She’s too careful around me. She puts real effort into not crossing that invisible line. But then again, she’s on her second cocktail after demolishing a whole bottle of champagne with her mom over lunch.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grin, not prepared to admit that she’s right despite both of us knowing damn well she is.
“Sure,” she scoffs, and with that, I dive into the huge pool.
I glide under the water, not coming up until I’m right next to her, and when I do, I find her curious gaze locked on me. I shake my head, droplets of water dancing across the pool as I move in behind her and reach around, plucking her glass from the edge of the pool and being careful not to brush up against her.
“Hey,” she snaps, but it’s too late, the glass is already at my lips.
I take a step back, putting some space between us before almost choking on her drink. “The fuck is this shit? That’s terrible.”
“You made it,” she laughs, taking the glass back and having another sip before splashing water up over me, the smile across her face making something ache inside my chest.
I can’t help but stand back and watch her, holding her green stare and getting lost within it. “There’s something different about you today,” I tell her.
Something sparkles in her eyes, and judging by the knowing grin creeping across her face, she knows exactly what I’m talking about, only she’s keeping it to herself. I knew she wouldn’t make this easy on me.
“Did you find yourself some hotshot lawyer at that fancy school of yours?” I question, the curiosity killing me.
“Ha. Don’t you think Mom would already be trying to plan my wedding if I was hooking up with some hotshot lawyer?”
“Good point,” I laugh, slowly moving back toward her as a strange relief pounds through my veins. Okay, so if she’s not dating anyone, then what the fuck has gotten into her?
Deciding it’s none of my business, I shift gears and get into the reason why I’m actually here. “So, lunch was intense.”
Aspen groans. “You mean with Austin?” she asks, glancing at me over her shoulder. I nod and she goes on, focusing her attention back on the view. “I don’t get his problem. Surely he’s not pissed because I went out to some club. He of all people should be down with it. Maybe he was too drunk to remember, but I was the one picking both of your stupid asses up when you could barely walk a straight line, and he knows I’m not nearly as irresponsible as you two were. Besides, it’s not like I’m some sixteen-year-old teenager sneaking out of my bedroom window. I’m an adult.”
I laugh to myself, wondering how the hell this got so off track. Forgetting all about the line I said I would never cross, I find myself stepping right into her back, so much closer than I was before.
What the fuck am I doing?
Aspen stiffens, her bare back pressed against my chest. My hand automatically comes to her waist as my other trails down her arm, leading down to the stamp at the base of her wrist. I hear her soft gasp, and that one sound throws me back into the private room at Vixen when I searched out the two wristbands on the woman’s arm. It was so eerily similar to this moment.
That’s twice she’s reminded me of her.
My hand tightens on her waist, and Aspen sucks in a breath as my fingers trail right down to her wrist, my thumb stroking over the gold moth. “You and I both know this isn’t an ordinary club stamp,” I murmur in her ear, her whole body trembling under my touch. Fuck, why the hell do I like it so much? Austin would murder me if he glanced out his bedroom window right now. This isn’t a risk I should be taking. “I know every fucking club in this town, and there’s only one with a stamp like that.”
My hand continues down, my fingers gripping her hand, and she closes her fingers around mine, clutching it like a lifeline, as if her basic instincts are to hold on to me and never let go. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, her voice shaky as she repeats the exact words I’d said to her only a minute ago. Only I was lying then, just as she’s lying now.