Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“I’ve seen way more than I ever should see,” Rex said. “And I agree, he’s probably more happy about the news than anyone else.”
“Probably,” I said, smiling. That pretty much meant my entire family knew about me and Rex, the only ones I really cared about. They all knew and they were all happy about it, making me even happier. There had been plenty of road bumps getting here (one of those road bumps lasting an entire six freaking years), but at least we got here.
“We’re here,” Rex said, reading my mind, as the trees opened around us and the sound of the small waterfall filled the air. A gentle mist floated through the darkening sky, the sun already setting, having moved down past the tree line. He tied Electra to the same tree as before. He dropped the heavy bag on the floor and unzipped it while I got Canyon settled in and secured.
“Oh, and get this.” Rex started to pull out a thick blue blanket from the bag. “Sylvia, my dad’s wife—well, ex-wife now—was the one responsible for that text message. The one you got in Costa Rica. She’d been the one to buy me that phone, and she had rigged it so she could see and respond to my messages. She saw our texts and replied, deleting it on my end so I never even knew what she sent you.”
“Are you—what the fuck. Seriously?”
“Seriously. And she did something similar when she went around my father’s back and emptied out my bank accounts.”
“Wow, that is evil.”
Rex nodded, shrugging. “Thankfully, my dad came to his senses and filed for divorce. It’s going to be a really hard road to reelection, but I already see him a thousand times happier. Plus—” He smiled at me as he took out a set of candles, setting them on the corners of the massive blanket. “—I managed to switch the labels on all of her boxes and loosened up a few of them from the bottom. She’s going to have an interesting time unpacking.”
That had me cracking up. “Oh man, that’s going to make her move so much more hellish.” I lifted a hand, and Rex met it with a slap. “Nice.” And then I leaned in to kiss those big lips, both of us smiling as I almost pushed Rex onto the blanket. He managed to stay up and finished emptying his backpack, pulling out a lantern that crackled to life when he lit it and set it on the side, near the river’s gently rolling edge. Next, he brought out a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne, with two well-wrapped glasses.
“Jeez, it’s like watching Mary Poppins after she put the kids down to sleep.”
Rex gave a loud belly laugh.
“Any other goodies in there?” I said, looking in and expecting to see an entire damn elephant looking back at me.
“That’s it,” Rex said, lifting the champagne and popping the cork. Golden bubbles fizzed upward, the foam dripping down the side of the black bottle. He poured a healthy amount into one flute and then the other, before handing me a glass.
“Cheers,” he said, “to new beginnings after second chances.”
“And to Karma diligently working her magic on heartless bitches.”
“Cheers to that, too.” Our glasses clinked together, and I drank the bubbly drink, an instant buzz working itself up through my body. I set the glass on a smooth patch of grass and leaned in, putting a hand on Rex’s knee. It was getting dark, but the sky above was beginning to blink to life with a field of stars shining through. The moon, hanging full and bright, added to the light, almost making the candles and lantern unnecessary.
They did add some really sexy vibes, though, and I wasn’t complaining about that one bit.
“This was such a great idea,” I said. Rex picked up a strawberry, but instead of bringing it to his own lips, he brought it to mine. I leaned in and took a bite, smiling as I chewed. He took the rest of it, leaving a little tuft of green between his fingers.
“It reminds me a little of our Costa Rican trip. Now that was an escape. I needed something similar after today.”
I looked around, envisioning the tall Costa Rican canopy taking the place of the dwarfed-by-comparison woods of Georgia. Instead of the birds chirping, we’d be hearing monkeys howling and singing, the air thick with humidity and possibility, sparking with the same energy that electrified the space between us.
“It’s like that night.”
Rex, kissing me, spoke against my lips. “That velvet midnight. I’ll never forget it.”
“Never,” I said, kissing him back, this time successful at pushing him down onto the blanket.
26
Rex Madison
Six Years Ago
“I don’t think I’m ever forgetting this night,” Benji said, lying down next to me as we looked up at the Costa Rican jungle, an almost surreal sight. It felt so alien, the trees stretching up toward the stars, a huge difference from the trees in my backyard.