Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I closed my eyes, waiting to feel Devlin’s lips on mine. Instead I heard him say, “It’s fine, we’re good.”
My eyes flew open. Devlin winked at me. A laugh bubbled up in my chest.
Elvis, however, appeared taken aback. “You don’t want to kiss your new wife?”
“Well, I would, but it’s against the rules. Thanks, though.” Grinning, he took me by the hand. “Come on, wife.”
We practically raced up the aisle, performing an end-zone run around the befuddled photographer who stood near the door.
“Wait!” she called. “Don’t you want a ‘just married’ photo?”
“No, thanks!” I unclipped the veil from my head and tossed it in the air.
Bursting into the lobby, we raced for the exit and spilled out onto the front steps, where we stood for a minute and stared at each other. We didn’t kiss, we didn’t cry, and we certainly didn’t declare our love.
But we were married.
Husband.
Wife.
I got a little bit tipsy at dinner.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten all day. Maybe it was because I was trying to distract myself from thinking about what we’d done. Maybe it was to fight the fear I had that it would all be for nothing, because everyone would see through this scheme and Gran wouldn’t let me inherit.
Or maybe it was to numb my attraction to Devlin.
My husband.
The thought of it sent a secret little thrill up my spine. Maybe it wasn’t real, but it was true.
And tonight was our wedding night.
Seated across from him in a dark corner of the steakhouse inside our hotel, I finished off my second glass of pinot noir and watched him take a sip of his second glass of whiskey. Why did he have to be so hot? Memories of the night we’d spent together were assaulting my mind left and right. He took another drink and set the glass down, keeping his hand wrapped around it. The shiny gold band on his finger reflected the candlelight on our table.
“Are you a lefty?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know that about you.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” His eyes locked on mine. In the dark, their sapphire hue was dulled, but not their effect on me.
I grew warm under his gaze and kind of wanted to take his sweatshirt off. I wished I was wearing something cuter underneath, but we’d been so hungry, neither one of us wanted to take the time to go up to our room and change.
Our one room. With its one bed.
I picked up my empty wineglass and attempted to take another sip.
“I think it’s gone,” Devlin said with a grin. “Would you like another?”
“I’m not sure I should.”
“Why not?”
“I might become vulnerable to your advances,” I said coquettishly, batting my lashes.
The grin disappeared. “There will be no advances, Lexi. I already told you—I will be a perfect gentleman tonight. You’ve got nothing to worry about. So if you’d like another glass of wine, go ahead and order it. You’re safe with me.”
Safe with him. I liked the words. I even believed them. So why was I feeling a little let down?
“I guess I don’t need more wine,” I said, dropping the coy virgin routine. “We’ve already paid the bill, and I don’t want to fly home with a headache in the morning.”
“Okay.” He finished off his whiskey. “Then let’s go.”
“Speaking of home, where is it?” I asked as we left our table. “I mean, where are we going to live?”
“I was thinking your place probably makes the most sense. For the time being, anyway.” He followed me out of the restaurant, briefly placing a hand on my lower back. “It’s a little small for both of us, but unless you want to move to a bigger place, it’s what we’ve got.”
“There are some two-bedroom units in the complex,” I told him. “I could see if any of those are available. Although it might not make sense if we’re only going to need it for six months.”
“It would make even less sense if we didn’t live together.”
As we headed through the casino, several women stared openly at Devlin, their heads turning as he passed them by. I didn’t blame them. I sort of wished he hadn’t taken his hand off my back.
“Hey, should I change my name?” I asked as we reached the elevators.
“Maybe.” He punched the button with the up arrow. “Just to avoid suspicion.”
“Pretty sure Elvis suspected something was up when you didn’t want to kiss me,” I teased, poking his shoulder.
“Oh, you wanted me to kiss you? Because your face told a different story.” The elevator arrived, and Devlin let me go in first. No one else entered, and he hit the button for our floor.
The doors closed. “I’m not saying I wanted you to kiss me, I’m just—” Suddenly I found myself pressed against the back wall of the elevator, caged in by both of his arms. He wasn’t touching me, but his mouth hovered so close to mine I could feel his breath on my lips.