Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Her children were beautiful just like she was.
What the hell did their dad look like?
“No,” I said, pretty sure she could hear us, and I wasn’t above sucking up. “That’s not your mom.”
“Yes, it is,” he replied.
“Are all your brothers and sisters from the same mom and dad?” I asked.
That got me a glance out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, we only marry once. We can’t exactly get divorced.”
That led to me having more questions, but I managed to keep them in my mouth just as the woman and her two sons stopped right in front of us.
Oh man, someone was not a fan of me, and I hadn’t even opened my mouth yet.
Then again, now that I had a better look, her expression was Alex’s default one, so maybe not.
His arm flexed under my hand.
“Happy birthday, Mother,” he greeted her.
The woman turned her cheek to the side, and Alex leaned forward just enough to brush his mouth across it, my hand sliding down until I touched his wrist.
Her smile reminded me of a shark.
No, not a shark.
That wasn’t aggressive enough. Something older, bigger. She was whatever it was the T. rex had fought in one of the Jurassic Park movies.
If they weren’t all capable of smelling my pee, I would have probably gone on myself a little bit.
“I’m pleased that you finally decided to come see your concerned mother, Alexander,” the woman said in a voice with just a hint of an accent I couldn’t pinpoint. “You should have called me. I had to hear from Selene instead.”
“I know that you’ve been busy,” he replied stonily before his gaze flicked to the two men on either side of him. “Achilles,” he said flatly.
“Alexander,” the uptight butthole greeted him back, all dull.
Leon tipped his chin up, the most mischievous smirk on his good-looking mouth.
Their mom tsked.
“Mother, this is Gracie,” Alex said.
Her head swiveled toward me like she had all damn day.
“Happy birthday, ma’am,” I said.
Long, dark blonde eyelashes fell over dark blue eyes that definitely had to have contacts in them.
“You are really beautiful and terrifying, and it’s nice to meet you. You have beautiful children, and I see now where they get it from,” I rambled in one breath.
Her gaze moved toward Alex. “This is who you were with?”
“Yes,” he answered.
Her sleek eyebrows flicked up just a little bit as she glanced back in my direction.
Slowly, oh so slowly, a long, thin hand extended toward me.
Was I supposed to kiss it?
“Just shake it,” Alex muttered under his breath.
Oh, I did just that, a low, cool power zinging straight up my arm like I’d just touched a glacier. I gulped as I pulled my hand back and instantly snuck it back into the crook of Alex’s elbow. Then I smiled weakly at his almost-doppelgänger, and said, “Hi, Leon.”
“Hi, Gracie,” he said with an amused smile on his stunning face. “Did you meet Lexi’s first wife yet?”
The arm I was holding on to tensed as I grinned right back at him. “Not yet, she hasn’t escaped the attic yet.”
“Lock your door before she gets jealous,” he joked in return.
Alex growled. “Are you two done?” he snapped. “Why are you flirting with each other?”
We were flirting?
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alex’s mom’s face change, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, his older brother might have stood up straighter.
A big, solid hand landed on top of the one I had on his arm. “If that’s all, Gracie needs to use the facilities,” Alex kept going, his gaze settling on Leon, who had a super smug expression that I didn’t know what to do with.
We took a step back just as Achilles said, “I need to speak to you.”
Shit. “I’m bad with directions and get lost really easily….”
“It’s right out the doors, second door on the left,” the snobby butthole explained.
The award-winning actor nodded, but I could tell he was resigned. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay,” I said, taking a step back. I’d tried to save him. If I hurried, maybe I could pretend to roll my ankle or something, so he would have to help me. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“See you, Gracie,” Leon called out, that ornery look still on his face.
Oh, he was a pest too.
But it made me smile when I spotted Alex’s scowl as I got away. I took my time walking through the doors, meeting some people’s eyes. Everyone was dressed in clothes like people in The Great Gatsby. Long dresses with heavy beading and expensive materials. Jewelry with gems the size of my pinkie nail. Tuxedos that were just as nice as the one Alex had on.
When I’d first seen him standing in the foyer, my knee had almost given out. Sure I’d said his other brother Odi had taken over the top spot of being the most attractive man I’d ever seen, but Alex in that suit? It was why I’d forced myself not to look at him more than I had to. It was too much.