Total pages in book: 227
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 220940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1105(@200wpm)___ 884(@250wpm)___ 736(@300wpm)
“I will.” She plants a kiss on his cheek. “Isn’t it a bit early?” she asks, indicating the drink in his hand.
“It’s noon.” He takes some of his drink, eyes on Rose.
“Ready?” Otto asks, appearing at the door. I blink my surprise. He’s in trousers and a jacket.
“Ready,” Esther says, joining him. He takes her in as she wanders over, his eyes lighting up, but he doesn’t tell her how stunning she looks. He doesn’t need to. His face says it all as he slips an arm around her shoulders and leads her out.
Rose immediately turns to me. “Otto’s proposing.”
“Oh, that’s great,” I smile, trying to inject some enthusiasm into my words.
“I’m delighted,” Danny says dryly, abandoning his drink and taking Maggie from Rose’s arms, putting her on his shoulder.
“I can tell.” I look at my mobile. Would Brad answer if I called?
“Oh, are these the revised drawings?” Rose drags the laptop toward her and looks at the screen.
“Yeah. A few tweaks still needed I think,” I say, absentmindedly. Should I call him? “I’m thinking maybe we should pinch a few more feet from the sunbed area for the beach bar.” I can’t stand this. Sitting around waiting for him to emerge from his splurge on all things forbidden. I know it’s over. I accept that.
But . . . do I?
I feel like I’m depending on someone to tell me my destiny.
It’s driving me insane.
“Excuse me,” I blurt, getting up. “I need the bathroom.” I turn the laptop fully toward Rose. “There are some lovely lounger pods which would look amazing in the bar area. Take a look.” Everyone’s carrying on like normal, pretending they’re not worried Brad has gone AWOL.
“Sure.”
I exit the kitchen and hurry up the stairs, rushing down the corridor and knocking on a door. Fury pulls it open, a towel wrapped around his waist. I divert my eyes up. I don’t know how to approach this without getting a flat refusal. “I need to go to the club,” I say. “Mason’s had to take over for Brad, and Nolan and Anya are struggling to get everything done for opening.”
“Give me five minutes.”
I nod and go to my room, quickly changing into some denim shorts and a white linen shirt before heading downstairs. “Anya needs some help at Hiatus,” I say.
Danny looks across to me as he pulls a sterilizing bag from the microwave. He nods. No objection. Nothing. “Get one of the Vikings to take you.”
“Okay.” I back out of the kitchen and wait at the bottom of the stairs for Fury, pacing, twitchy.
As to his word, he appears in five minutes, suited and booted. “Let’s go.” I leave the house and slip into the front of his car, putting my bag on my lap. He climbs in.
I wait until we’re on the main road before I talk. “Fury,” I say, facing him.
“Pearl.”
“I want to go to the Four Seasons.”
“I had a feeling that was coming.” He slows at a red light, tapping the wheel with one hand, stroking his beard with the other. Thinking. Weighing up the pros and cons.
“I’m worried,” I go on.
“Me too.” He looks at me. “But if anything happened to you under my watch, I’d feel pretty bad about that.”
“What could happen, Fury?” I ask. “You take me to the hotel, I check on Brad, we leave.”
“What could happen?” He laughs. “Pearl, you sweet thing. You aren’t in the normal world anymore.”
I’ve never been in a normal world. “I know that, Fury.”
He regards me with a curious eye, and I wilt in my chair.
“I’m worried,” I repeat. “Nothing more.”
“He’ll be fine.” He pulls off from the lights, and I deflate, resisting protesting. “Brad does what Brad does. And he’s doing it now. He’ll come out of it when he’s ready.” Except they don’t know everything. I know Fury would never knowingly put any of us in danger.
I bite at my lip, glancing down at the cup holders between us where Fury’s dropped the keys for the car. It wouldn’t be his fault if I gave him the slip.
I bide my time, looking ahead at the road, watching for cabs. I see one in the distance, and like they know I need it, the lights up ahead change to red. Fury slows down, and the moment the car’s stopped, I reach for the button on the dashboard to turn off the engine then grab the keys, jumping out.
“Pearl!”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I dash across the road, waving an arm for the cab to stop, praying it’s free. My heart leaps when I see the blinker come on. He pulls over and I hop in. “The Four Seasons,” I blurt, slamming the door. I look back as the cab pulls away, seeing Fury in the middle of the road, arms up in the air, a face full of . . . fury. And today I learned why Fury if known as Fury. Murderous. “As quick as you can,” I say, resting back, staring at the screen of my phone as Fury’s name flashes angrily at me. I don’t ignore him. “I’ll be okay,” I say when I answer.