Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“You don’t let up, do you?” he said. “Listen, I just want to say I’m sorry for the way I went about it. But I’m not sorry that I’m with Tiffany. You and I were all wrong for each other and you know that.”
If he thought I was going to let him off the hook he had another thing coming. “So that gave you the right to fuck my sister?”
He cringed. “Stop it, Willow. You’ve made the point you came to make. All you’re doing now is making people feel pity for you because you obviously still have feelings for me.”
“What? Are you insane?” The idea was so ridiculous, I started to laugh. Loudly. So loud, it drew other people’s attention, including Tiffany.
“Is everything all right?” she said, joining us.
“Oh yes,” I said, wiping tears from the sides of my eyes. “I never knew Steven could be this funny.”
25
REX
“Are you still in love with him?” I asked as we walked back to our suite.
“What?” Willow exclaimed, sounding genuinely shocked at the idea.
But the past had shown me that women were born with acting ability. An image of Willow throwing her head back and laughing uproariously filled my mind. A vise clenched my insides.
“I’ve never seen you laugh as you did tonight with Steven.” I hated the alien feelings that had come over me. The jealousy that was eating me alive and not letting me think rationally.
Willow sighed heavily. “That was a sarcastic laugh. And anyway, who wouldn’t laugh, if they’re caught in the mess I’m in?”
I had no reason to be proprietorial over Willow. The fact that we were going at it like rabbits day and night did not give me exclusive rights. We were supposed to be acting. At any rate, there was no reason at all for me to be having these thoughts and feelings. I didn’t want to be in a relationship. Period. There was no place in my life for an all-consuming relationship.
We were close to the elevator, when she stopped and turned to me.
“Why did you tell Olivia that we can have dinner together?”
I shrugged. “I’ll be in New York that day, so I thought, why not? Might be fun.”
“But our agreement…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to charge you more for one more night of acting.”
She frowned and was about to say something else, but I spoke first. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Why, where are you going?” she asked, her voice small and almost desperate.
“Steven’s stag party.” To be honest it was something I dreaded, but I needed a distraction from Willow. I needed a bit of time away from her body, to get some perspective, to stop thinking with my dick.
“Go on up. I need to make some business calls anyway. I’ll see you when I get back.”
She stared at me for a moment. “Okay.”
I watched her get into the elevator and as the doors slid shut, I took a left and went to the hotel bar. Blackbeard’s Bar was muted and quiet with only a few people occupying the tables.
I headed to a private table in a corner.
As soon as I sat down, I immediately wished Willow was seated across from me. No woman had ever captivated me as much as she had. She had worked her way into my every thought in the little time we’d known each other. It was actually pretty crazy how I saw her in every situation in my life, next to me.
The waiter pulled me from my thoughts when he came to take my order.
For a moment, I considered ordering a margarita, but it felt wrong to be drinking it without her. I ordered a bourbon on the rocks instead, and when the waiter retreated, I got busy on my phone. There were only two important items that needed my attention, the rest I forwarded to my PA.
The waiter brought my drink.
I tossed it back and set the glass back on the table, and left for what I knew was going to be a dreary experience replete with the obligatory strippers, too much booze, and grown men behaving like fools.
26
WILLOW
A strange pang of disappointment and loss came over me when I stood in the elevator and watched Rex walk away from me. It was a horrible feeling and it made me fear what would happen when the weekend was over, when he really walked away for good.
Was I falling too deeply in lust with him?
I went up to our bedroom, showered, then changed into one of his shirts. After putting away my borrowed clothes and jewelry, I slipped between the sheets with my phone.
The bed smelled of Rex, making me miss him even more. I clicked on my phone and found new messages from the dog hotel. I smiled at the pictures of Pogo having fun with the others.