Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Her comment is a little immature, but the way she says it…there’s actual interest beyond some silly blonde comparing my life to something she’s seen from Hollywood.
“Yeah, well life isn’t a movie, sweetheart,” I reply in as patronizing a tone as I can muster. It hits home, and Evie’s face twists like she’s just tried something sour. “In real life, when someone wants you dead, there’s a chance you might actually die. There’s no hero coming to save you.”
At this, Evie’s eyes flash again, and she leans forward and floats through the water to my edge of the jacuzzi. “Wouldn’t you come and save me, Daddy?”
Daddy? Shit, this girl is laying it on thick…and I like it.
“Well, that depends, I…” before I can finish, one of my men emerges from inside carrying a silver tray with our breakfast. “Ah, our food has arrived.” I point to the table, “You can set it here.”
The man does, then with a nod of respect, returns to the house. Evie casually, and very alluringly, floats over to the edge of the jacuzzi.
“I see your men are quite afraid of you,” she says. “You really are the Godfather. Maybe you should lighten up.”
“Lighten up?” I ask. “You want to hear a joke?”
Evie’s eyes light up, and she nods eagerly. “I’d love to.”
“Okay,” I reply. I gesture to the pancake on the tray. “Why was the pancake arrested?”
“Why?” she asks.
“It was committing unwaffle activities.”
“Pfffffft!” Evie bursts out laughing and falls back in the water. “You better not let your men hear you crack a dad joke like that. There might be an internal rebellion.”
“Yes, well there may already…” My voice trails off. How am I already discussing something so important so freely with her like this?
“Yes?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I reply, shaking my head. I lift the tray and carry it to the edge of the water and set it down. She joins me, and although I see the curious look still in her eyes, she doesn’t press the issue. A woman who knows when to hold her tongue—is it possible she has beauty and brains?
We eat together, and I feel warm inside. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a meal with a woman. There’s something incredibly intimate about it, especially just how casual it is. I watch as she uses her fork to cut her pancakes, gently mops up the syrup, and then places each bite onto her tongue before chewing. Christ, I could watch her do this for hours. I’m actually getting turned on just by watching her feed herself.
“Your chef is quite good,” she remarks.
“If he wasn’t, he’d be out of a job.”
This seems to please Evie as she dips a strawberry in the small bowl of whipped cream and then bites it in half. I notice her teeth are absolutely perfect, just like the rest of her.
She looks happy as she eats. Where is the sass and rebelling she came here with? Is it possible she’s actually enjoying herself? Settling in? Could she see herself living here with me the same way I do?
No, don’t be stupid, Callum.
She’s only here because she wants the money. I can’t let myself get too attached to her. Can’t let myself believe she actually likes me. That’s a bad road to go down, and I’ll only end up getting myself in a lot of trouble. I already have issues within my organization I have to deal with; I don’t need to create another for myself.
But goddamn it if I don’t feel myself already starting to fall for her.
Thankfully, Geoffrey comes out of the house seconds later, and I can tell by his pace that there’s something important that requires my attention.
“Sir,” he says. “I need a moment.”
“Aw, you’re just gonna ruin our breakfast like that?” Evie whines.
“I’m afraid so,” Geoffrey replies, not having any of her game.
“Enjoy the rest of your meal,” I tell her.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she replies with a wink as I head back to the house. And truthfully, leaving her there is painfully hard. All I want to do is tell Geoffrey he can have two minutes of my time and that’s all and then I’m going back to her. But I know that’s not possible; I have an empire to command and a mole to root out, and my best guess is that whatever is on Geoffrey’s mind right now has to do precisely with that.
But if that is what could bring my life’s work crashing down on me and could potentially end up getting me killed, why can I not stop thinking about her?
Chapter Six
Evie
* * *
I spend the rest of the day alone, and if you’d asked me before I came here how I’d feel about that, I would have told you that I would have been thrilled about it. But now, sitting in my room by myself, staring at the wall, I’m actually feeling lonely.