Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Willow smiled sweetly toward Peter, and that pissed me off.
Damn.
I was officially pissed off.
His mere existence did that to me.
I hated that Willow was giving him a second of her time, but she didn’t know the snake that lived within that man. She was as clueless and free as she could be.
“The talk of the town?” Willow questioned. “Little ole me?”
Peter snickered and shook his head with a sinister grin. “You sure are a little thing, aren’t you?”
For fuck’s sake.
Please spare her, you fucking sleazeball.
It took everything in my power not to roll my eyes. I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. Peter knew how to get under my skin, so I had to learn how not to showcase when he had.
“We were just leaving,” I replied dryly, nodding in Willow’s direction.
“Without an introduction, cuz?” Peter asked, patting his hand on my shoulder with his wide, pearly smile that his parents paid for. He knew I hated when he touched me. That was why he did it.
“Cuz? Are you two cousins?” Willow asked with a level of intrigue. Her right eyebrow lifted as the sunlight touched her raised cheeks.
Peter beamed with fake pride. “Sure are.”
“Oh. Lovely. I’m Willow,” she said, offering Peter her hand.
That pissed me off, too.
It pissed me off even more when he took her hand and shook it. He held on a little too long, if you asked me.
I needed to get back to my boat.
I’d been around people for too long.
“Peter,” he replied as he slid his hands into his sweatpants pockets. “So where’s your boyfriend, Willow?”
Give me a fucking break. What a stupid fucking line.
“I don’t know. Haven’t met him yet.” She then turned to me and tilted her head. “You two look so different.”
“Thank you,” Peter and I said in unison.
Willow laughed.
That sound made me a little less pissed off.
“Like I said, we were on our way out. Food’s getting cold,” I cut in.
Peter ignored me, which wasn’t uncommon for him. He ignored pretty much everyone unless he thought he had the chance of getting laid. That was why it was so bothersome how his eyes were glued to Willow.
“How long are you in town, Willow?” he asked her, raking his hand through his brown hair.
“For the summer.”
Peter flicked his thumb over his nose. “You have nothing you’re waiting to return to?”
“No. I kind of live in the concept that you’re always exactly where you’re supposed to be. I’m in no rush with life,” she replied. “I allow it to move me as it wishes.”
Peter smirked. It was ugly. “Speaking of moving…do you like dancing?”
“I love it,” she said.
“Well, if life moves you, tonight there’s a dance party down at the Barnhouse celebrating the start of summer. I’d love to take you as my plus-one. I would invite my cousin here, but I know he’s not much of a dancer or partier for that.” He patted me on the back. I considered slugging him. “But if you’re interested, I can pick you up around nine tonight.”
Willow bit her bottom lip and glanced my way. “You don’t dance?”
I gave her a blank stare, feeling a knot forming in my gut.
She knew my answer.
Willow frowned, but it only lasted for a split second before she turned back toward Peter. “A party sounds fun. I’m staying with Theo if you want to scoop me up from his place.”
“Scoop you up, I will do.” He tipped an invisible hat toward Willow before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. “I’ll see you later on.” He took a puff of the cigarette, then blew a cloud of smoke in my face. What a dick. “I’ll see ya later, cuz.”
With that, he scurried away like the roach he was.
Willow looked at me and narrowed her eyes. “Cousins, huh?”
“We aren’t close.”
“Yes.” She began to walk over to my truck. “I know.”
“How do you know?”
“You might not know this about me, but I’m a professional at reading a person’s body language.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Sure is. And do you know what your body language read during that whole exchange?”
“What’s that?” I asked as I opened the passenger door for her to climb inside.
“‘Piss off, Peter,’” she said without a moment’s hesitation.
Well.
I guessed I didn’t have as much of a poker face as I thought.
I shut her door and then walked over to mine. I climbed into the truck and put it into drive. The whole time, I could feel Willow’s eyes on me.
“I don’t have to go tonight if it makes you uncomfortable. I just love meeting people, and dancing is my favorite pastime.”
“Why would it make me uncomfortable?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You just seemed bothered by Peter, and I don’t want to go against my roomie for the summer.”
“I don’t care what you do with your life.”
“Yes…okay…” She kept staring. The unease of it kept building.