Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“I like your hair down like this.” I press a kiss to the side of her head.
“I’m beginning to learn that about you,” she replies, and I swear it feels like she’s reading my mind, seeing every image running through my head: How she looks when she’s on all fours, her hair curtaining her either side. How it feels when she’s on top of me, leaning back, her hair sweeping over my legs as she comes. How she moans when I gather her hair in my hand and use it to lift her chin to give me more access to her.
All I can think about is Jules, naked, when I see her hair down.
“You should definitely not wear your hair down if you want me to concentrate.”
She lifts her eyebrows slightly, like she knew exactly what she was doing tonight when she had her hair styled like this. Like she wanted my mind to be completely full of her when I see Caroline.
I’m content to stand on the red carpet, at the entrance to the hotel ballroom, but apparently Jules isn’t.
She starts to walk and tugs on my hand, laughing. “Come on. I’d like a martini.”
“I think we should make it a margarita,” I reply. “We can make that back home. Do we even need to be here?”
“Not for long,” she says.
Already she’s got me not thinking about the worst parts of this evening more than I thought possible. She’s deliberately distracting me, because that’s who she is. Always thinking about me. Caring, concerned, committed.
We make our way to the cocktail area.
“What happened to the dinner with your would-be investor in Harlem?” she asks.
I take two full champagne flutes from a tray and hand one to Jules. “Andrew? The guy you met at New River?”
“Yeah, weren’t we going to have dinner with him and his wife?”
I nod. “Yeah, trying to find a time in his diary is insane. He’s being wined and dined by the whole of New York. I’ll ask my new assistant where we are with that.”
A breeze of awkwardness passes between us. Tonight was the night that Jules and I have been working toward for the last few weeks. It was all meant to end tonight. I’ve not thought past the next few hours. We haven’t discussed what’s next for us. Is she moving out? Do I want her to? What are we doing? Are we sleeping with each other because it’s convenient or because—
I can’t think about any of this until after tonight. I just need to focus on the here and now.
I scan the room and see various people I know. I raise my glass to the head of one of my go-to brokers just as Jonathan comes up behind us.
“Leo, my friend. The man of the moment. How are you doing?” His eyes flit between me and Jules. I smile as I see him work out whether or not we’re together.
“Great to see you, Jonathan. Have you met my fiancée, Jules Moore?”
“Your fiancée?” he asks. “You usually come stag to these kinds of events. No, I’ve not had the pleasure.”
“I couldn’t miss a night like this,” Jules says without missing a beat. “I don’t usually tag along to work events, but I made an exception for the Developer of the Decade.” She’s smooth and charming and everything I’m not feeling right now.
Just as I’m about to make an excuse and head to the bathroom, Worth appears. “Hey, guys. Jules.” He pulls her in for a hug, completing the picture that Jules is part of my inner circle.
As I chat to Worth about who from our group has arrived, which is easily cleared up because I’ve seen no one, Jonathan continues to talk to Jules. It’s only fleeting, but for a second, I wonder if they’ve met before. I know that finding out Nadia wasn’t who she said she was did a number on me, but I wish I could put those fears behind me. Everything I want to put in the past is right here in this room tonight.
“Have you seen her?” Worth asks, his tone hushed.
I shake my head. “I haven’t looked.”
“I checked the table plan. You’re at the table at the front and she’s two tables over.”
I nod, grateful that Worth’s thought to look. Forewarned is forearmed.
A couple of people from my team arrive. As I greet them, I check for Jules out of the corner of my eye. I don’t see her, and so I scan the crowd.
Someone slips a hand into mine. “Hey.” Jules is beside me. “Sorry. Jonathan sure can talk.”
“Is that Jonathan Klein from Property International?” Franchesa, from my team, says. “He could actually represent the US in the talking Olympics. I’ve never met a man with more words.”
Bennett arrives with Efa, and I glance at Jules. Is she pleased? Does she like Efa? I do, but she’s my mate’s girlfriend—as long as she’s good to him, I’m happy. Has Jules made a friend in Efa? Why am I even thinking about this? Because you’re living in the future instead of staying in the present, a voice inside chides. Is there a future where a friendship between Efa and Jules matters to me? Do I want there to be?