Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
She bites down on her lip, her eyes jumping to me. “You’re going to stay here?” Something in her tone sets my dick on fire.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“He’s the only person I trust,” Henry adds, looking over at me and then back at Liz. “I need you to be in the best hands right now. I’ve never had this kind of conflict come to my door. No one’s been bold enough to go after my family.”
Guilt threatens to creep into my chest, but I brush it off. Liz is a grown-ass woman, and what happened between us was more than fucking mutual.
Henry would still kill me if he knew how I think about her.
“My life has literally turned upside down,” Liz groans, her face falling into her hands as she collapses into one of the oversized recliners. “I don’t even have any clothes.”
“You do. I had the closets stocked upstairs. It should be no problem for you to find everything you need. I’ve thought about scenarios like this before. I just never actually thought they’d happen.”
“Yet here we are,” Liz mutters, glaring at her dad.
“Yep,” I chuckle, finding her frustration damn near adorable in the moment. She shoots me daggers as Henry stands.
This is going to be interesting.
CHAPTER 9
Liz
I blink a few times, staring at the wall in front of me. I’m wrapped up in a cozy robe, compliments of the closet stocked with women’s clothing—most of it being my size. I don’t know how my dad knew my size, but he did, and right now, I’m glad about it.
My phone buzzes on the flannel-style quilt, and I swoop it up, hoping for a distraction. I let out a sigh of relief as I see Bethany’s face pop up on the screen.
Thank God.
“Hey, how are you? Where are you? What’re you doing? I seriously am so worried about you. You’ve been MIA for, like, weeks.”
I laugh, feeling something other than frustration for the first time in the last twenty-four hours. “It’s a long story, like, so freaking long. Basically, I’m taking a vacation.” I’m not sure how much I can share with her. Honestly, I’m not even sure how much she’ll believe.
“Well, you better start spilling. I want to know what the hell is going on, Liz. You never drop off the face of the earth, and my wedding is only three months away.”
“I know, I know. You don’t have to worry about your wedding. I promise I’ll be there, and we’ll have a kickass bachelorette party.” Come hell or high water.
“Okay, but now, what’s up with you? You’re avoiding the topic,” she scolds me. “I know you well enough to know when you’re trying to get around telling me what’s going on.”
Ugh.
“I…” My voice trails off as I rack my brain for a logical explanation that won’t make me sound insane. “I lost my job.”
“What! What happened?”
“It has to do with my dad,” I mutter. “You know he’s an investor and all that. There was a conflict of interest. Mr. Hudson thought it was best if I wasn’t on the team.” My reasoning is muddy at best, and I hope she’ll buy it.
“What a dick. Will he hire you back once the case is done? How will this affect your ability to find more work? Where are you? Do you want me to come and hang out with you? Surely, you’re not on vacay alone, right?”
Jeez. Slow down, woman.
“He won’t hire me back, but it doesn’t matter. I have another job.”
“Working for who?” she cuts in.
“Um, for my dad’s best friend—the one we saw at the bridal shop.”
“Oh? He’s a lawyer? His suit looked way too expensive to be a lawyer.”
“He has other businesses.”
“Okay. So, you’re getting to do what you want, right? You know you don’t have to let your dad make these decisions—”
“He didn’t,” I say, which is mostly true. “I made the decision. I think it’ll be a great learning experience. He’s already given me a case to handle on my own, and that’s more than Mr. Hudson has done in months.”
“Ah, well, true,” Bethany hums on the other side of the phone. “So you never said who you’re on vacation with. Are you alone?”
“No, I’m not,” I say warily, unsure how to approach this subject. “I’m with family friends.” Okay, that sounded weird.
Apparently, Beth thinks the same thing. “Um, okay…”
“Yeah, I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“You have me worried, Liz.” Her tone softens. “I don’t like this.”
Yeah, me neither.
“It’s a long story I’ll tell you at some point.” Maybe. “I just… I don’t know. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.”
“Tell me about it,” she mutters. “Daniel is on a rampage right now about eating healthy and getting buff before the wedding. I swear he’s living at the gym. I am so over it.”