Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Ian was intimidating on a good day but being the oldest brother, he was the de facto patriarch of the family and he’d want to be aware of where his sister went. Ian loved his sisters and he was overprotective of them, so Dex couldn’t understand why she thought he would be upset with her. Clearly there was more to this story but asking about it seemed insensitive right now.
Dex glanced toward the passenger seat where Samantha nibbled on her plump bottom lip. He did his best not to groan at the sexy sight. “Look, I get that you’re upset, but you need to figure out a plan.”
“And I think I have one.” She picked up her phone and began to type, finished, and then stared at the screen. Once her phone buzzed again, she smiled.
The same enchanting smile that had caught his attention all those years ago at a New Year’s Eve party for the Miami Thunder.
“Yes!” she said with an adorable fist pump. “Take me to Teterboro, if you don’t mind,” she said of the private airport. “Otherwise, I can call for an Uber. I know you must have come to the hotel for a reason and I hijacked you and your car.”
Shit! One look at the gorgeous woman in a wedding dress and he’d forgotten about his meeting with Wes. “Thanks for the reminder.” He drove until he saw an empty spot and pulled in, putting the vehicle into park.
“I need to send a message to the friend I was going to meet.” He picked up his cell and texted Wes, informing him he wouldn’t be there and would explain later, so his pal wouldn’t wait any longer than he already had. Then he turned to Samantha. “Why do you want to go to Teterboro?”
“Well, Ian’s jet is fueled and ready to go to Turks for my…” She coughed. “Honeymoon.” She said the word with great distaste and a scowl. “But I couldn’t ask him if I could still use his plane because I know he’d want to have a conversation first.”
“And you’re not ready to deal with your brother,” Dex repeated her earlier words.
“Right. But my cousin, Asher, has a jet and a place in the Bahamas and I just asked him if I could spend a couple of days there to regroup.” She picked up her phone as if to reaffirm she’d texted him. “And he said of course. So… I need to go to Teterboro.”
“Your mom and family will worry.”
She shook her head. “I already texted Mom and told her I ran into you, that I was safe and to tell the others. I said I’d let her know where I ended up, so I’ll text her from the air.”
In other words, she didn’t want anyone to stop her.
Dex did his best not to bang his head on his steering wheel as it was only a matter of time before Ian started blowing up his phone and asking what the fuck Dex was doing with his sister. It wouldn’t be the first time, either.
Dex met Samantha at a New Year’s Eve team and family party. He recalled mistletoe and the hottest kiss he’d ever experienced. One that had been so explosive, he’d almost forgotten where they were and why.
And when he’d come up for air, Ian was glaring at him. With one shake of his head, Samantha’s oldest brother and Dex’s boss at the time had cut off any possibility of him pursuing the sexy, smart woman he’d been talking to all night. The first female to ever intrigue him with her intelligence and amuse him with her wit. He’d never felt an attraction like it before or since.
But he also knew Samantha wasn’t the kind of girl you picked up for a one-night stand, and not just because if he went near her Ian Dare could make his life miserable and his career difficult. Dex hadn’t been at the point in his life where a relationship was feasible. He’d been football-focused and hadn’t wanted any distractions. He’d had goals and dreams and looking back, he’d accomplished them.
In truth, he wasn’t sure how he even thought about the institution of marriage. While Alex and Gloria, his adoptive parents, had a wonderful marriage until her murder—not something he wanted to think about now—his birth parents had spent their lives arguing. Which was why the Sterling house had been his escape.
“Dex? Can you take me to the airport?” she asked again, interrupting his trip into the past and focusing him squarely in the here and now.
He ran a hand through his hair. Could he take her to Teterboro and drop her off to spend however many days alone on an island after such a traumatic experience? Yes to the former… no the latter.
“Want company?” he asked. “Because I’m not dropping you off to be on your own when you’re so upset,” he said, knowing Samantha was somehow going to change the course of his life.