Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“As my heart aches,” the crowd recites the words with him like he’s a rockstar, “the condom breaks…"
I tilt my head to the side.
His words are still terrible, but they hit slightly different now that I’m older.
"When the rubber stretched,” He’s still confident as ever. “My cock compressed….”
When he finishes, I stand with the crowd for a loud ovation.
“This poem is still fucking awful,” a familiar voice says from behind.
I turn around to see Liam, but he isn’t speaking to me. Lauren is at his side, smiling.
“So, don’t add him to my approved poets list?” she asks.
“No.” Liam shakes his head, and she plants a kiss on his lips, but he never takes his eyes off mine.
“Show him around my bar and get us a good table on the VIP level, Genevieve,” Lauren says. “I’ll stand guard for Brett.”
“I’m fine, really.”
“Go.” She smiles through gritted teeth, leaning forward to whisper in my ear. “I need the extra time to call a few clients. I’m in panic mode, and I’m trying not to let anyone else see.”
“Got it.” I return her forced smile and gesture for Liam to follow me.”
“This is where the brides will show off their reception gowns,” I say. “They have this type of light that makes them sparkle in the darkness.”
“Why do you think I owe you an apology, Genevieve?”
I stop walking and nearly lose it at the sound of him asking me that question, but I manage to keep my composure.
I decide to ignore him.
“Over here, is where the grooms are supposed to select their choice of cupcakes.” I ignore him, walking further ahead. “I don’t know why this is even a thing because everyone knows grooms don’t typically care for the details the way the brides do.”
“Don’t make me ask you again, Genevieve.”
“These dresses were flown in from some designer in France,” I say, waving my hand in front of a glass case. “This is one of the big reasons why Lauren is the best at what she does.”
“I’m going to find us a table,” he says. “I don’t want a tour…”
He walks away without another word, and it takes everything in me not to leave this place and go home.
9
GENEVIEVE
“So, where did you and Liam meet?” Brett asks Lauren during an intermission.
“I saw him on a flight back from California. He told me he was moving back to Boston and I told him to call me when he came back. I was not expecting for him to actually contact me, but four dinners later and well, it all went from there.”
“How did you two meet?” Liam returns the favor.
“Short story.” Brett beats me to the answer. “I was giving a speech at Harvard and halfway through it, the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life came and sat in the front row. I froze mid-sentence and stared at her for so long that someone tapped my shoulder and asked if I was okay.”
Liam finally looks up, staring at me.
“After a Q&A, I asked her out and she turned me down.” Brett smiles. “So, I asked around about her and I showed up on campus every Friday for months and kept asking her out. And then one day out of the blue, she showed up to another speech and she finally said yes.”
“They’ve been inseparable ever since,” Lauren says. “They do everything together, and they’ll probably be the most ruthless lawyer power couple whenever she finishes law school.”
“Hmmm.” Liam is still staring at me. “You don’t strike me as the ruthless type, Miss Edwards.”
“How’d you know her last name?” Brett tilts his head to the side. “Oh, wait. Exeter.”
“I can be ruthless,” I say. “You have no idea.”
“I’m just saying, you strike me as more of the empathetic ‘should be a writer’ type…”
“I think I know my girl better than you do.” Brett wraps an arm around my shoulder. “She was born to be a lawyer, like me. Just like you were probably born to stand in a classroom all day and draw a basic salary.”
“I ran a hedge fund on Wall Street that made more money than you’ll ever dream about, Brett.”
“I have connections with more powerful people than you’ll ever meet in your actual life, Liam.”
“I doubt that.”
“I assure you that.”
Silence.
Lauren looks completely oblivious to this pissing match. She’s too busy tasting mini cupcakes.
“Okay…” I pick up a glass and raise it. “Let’s have a toast to us enjoying our careers this year.”
“So, even with all your connections, you still have a salary cap and your main job is to win cases.” Liam glares at Brett.
“I don’t just win cases, Liam,” Brett refuses to back down. “I dismantle them and make them regret ever going against me.”
Liam arches a brow, and I down my wine alone.
“Like my last case,” he says. “This guy and his family hired a hitman to kill his sister-in-law. I knew it, he knew it, and his lawyer knew it, but all the evidence was circumstantial.”