Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Hugo glanced over at me as a coy look filled his face.
“Nah, she knows how to share us well,” he replied.
I almost rolled down the window because it felt so hot and tense in the car. If only we weren’t going to a fancy gala.
When we arrived at Hugo’s parents’ house, which was a towering, two-story building with a lush front lawn and large front porch with columns, I turned to Stephen.
“Thanks for the ride,” I told him. His playfulness settled my nerves a little.
“If only you were saying that in another sense,” Stephen chuckled, but his cocky grin faded for a second. He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, his left hand caressing the other one. “You really do look beautiful. I know I’m not the guy who sticks around with girls, but I can’t seem to shake you.”
A warm feeling bloomed within me as I placed my hand over his and smiled at him. He didn’t act like much of a player anymore. He still teased and made flirty comments, but there were tones of sweetness in his voice when he spoke to me now. Being in his spotlight made me feel special, and that was a feeling I never wanted to lose.
“Don’t try to,” I murmured before pressing a light kiss against his lips.
When we broke apart, I winked at him playfully before getting out of the car and taking Hugo’s arm once he made his way over to me. I let him lead me inside the house where jazz music was playing and servers were carrying around trays of champagne and finger foods to all the guests scattered around the foyer, dining room, and living room.
“Woah,” I said as I stared up at a spiral staircase that led to the second floor.
“Yeah, it’s a lot,” Hugo told me. “Almost too much.”
“You don’t want a mansion when you get drafted into the NHL?” I asked him.
Hugo chuckled and led me around the house in search of his parents, nodding politely to guests who knew him.
“Nah. I don’t care for all the flash and shit. I want a place that feels like home,” he replied. “Even if that’s some little, cozy house with someone I love.”
I found myself leaning into his side as he kept me close, thoroughly liking his answer. Maybe he wasn’t the snooty, rich boy that I originally thought he was like.
“There are my parents,” Hugo said as he pointed to a tall, lean man in a black suit and a thin woman with short, brown hair and noticeable Botox in her face in a cream-colored dress.
I took in a deep breath and tightened my grip on his arm, knowing that I had to meet them and wow them somehow.
“Let’s go,” I told him, feeling like the girlfriend meeting the parents for the first time.
Hugo walked me over to them as they stood in the middle of the living room, chatting to another couple who could pay my tuition five times over.
“Mom, Dad, this is Leah Carney,” he introduced me with a proud smile on his face.
Hugo’s father stared me down for a few seconds, not even reaching his hand out to me. His cold eyes darted back to his son.
“The hockey player? The one I told you not to bother with?” he asked.
“Dad, seriously?” Hugo replied in a sharp voice.
Hugo’s mother continued to eye me, on the verge of turning her nose up at me.
I felt like shrinking back into non-existence, my face burning with embarrassment as other people started to look at me. I didn’t even know that Hugo mentioned me to his father before, but he obviously already had an opinion about me.
“What? I invited Ashley Daniels here tonight. I told her that you were interested in taking her out and getting to know her,” Hugo’s father said to him as he pointed to a slim, dolled up redhead near the entryway to the living room.
Hugo looked over at Ashley and shook his head.
“I told you not to do that. I told you that I was bringing someone,” he said as he looked over at me. “Someone special.”
I stepped away from Hugo, my eyes starting to sting. I knew that I would be the odd one out here, but I wasn’t even welcome in the first place! Hugo’s parents would never want him to be with someone like me, even if he did seem to feel something toward me.
“I can just go,” I murmured.
“I didn’t think that it was her! You will talk to Ashley, she’s here to see you,” Hugo’s father gritted out as he stepped towards his son.
Hugo clenched his jaw and lowered his eyes for a moment. He then looked over at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said before walking toward Ashley.
I had to rapidly blink my eyes to keep a tear from slipping out. He just left me. Just like that. Why did I ever think that there was something special between me and Hugo? All of those sweet words and kisses were just in the moment actions. They didn’t have any substance to them. Not when he was meant to be with some hot socialite instead of a poor girl from a tiny, obsolete town.