Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“You can say that again.”
I drained my beer, then lifted my hand for the bartender to bring us another round.
Kai’s face drained of color.
“What?” I asked.
He slid his phone across the table. “Uh, I just got an SOS from Elsie. I think this is meant for you.”
I furrowed my brow and then read the text message.
SOS, babe! Tell Chase that Kennedy is at Ashleigh’s retreat this time.
I blinked at those words. My stomach dipped. Fucking Ashleigh.
I had known this was too good to be true. I’d known it, and I’d sent my girlfriend to the lion’s den anyway. I swore she pissed me off. I was going to destroy her for this.
“We’ll have the check instead,” I said to the bartender.
“Ashleigh strikes again,” Kai muttered.
“I’m going to kill her.”
“That’s what she wants, dude. You know she’s hoping for a reaction from you.”
“Then, she’s going to fucking get it.”
“Any excuse to tell your dad,” Kai reminded me.
I closed my eyes as the fury roiled through me. Was that what this was? Was Ashleigh trying to find a reason to tell our dad? I wouldn’t put it past her. But fuck, I never understood her motives. We’d grown up together in the same fucking house, and she was still a goddamn mystery. A selfish, unrepentant mystery.
“Should you call Harley?”
“I’ll text her on the way.”
“On the way?” Kai asked. He sighed. “Oh. We’re going to interrupt girls’ night.”
“I’m not leaving Harley to deal with Ashleigh alone.”
Kai tipped his beer back. “All right, let’s go.”
The bar that Ashleigh always took the girls after their spa day was attached to an upscale restaurant mere blocks from where Kai and I had been drinking. The girls usually had drinks and finger food and then went for a fancy dinner before ending up at the bar again afterward. She’d been doing these soirees for years.
Personally, I was surprised that Harley had even gone out with them after meeting Kennedy. She would have had to drive downtown from The Retreat. That was a solid thirty minutes to decide to remain. Also, she hadn’t texted me. We’d only gotten the information from Elsie.
Where exactly was her head at?
Was she trying to one-up my sister? Was she staying to prove a point? I wouldn’t put it past her, but I hoped that she didn’t think I would want that. The last thing I wanted was for Ashleigh to make her uncomfortable.
So, I was unprepared for what I saw when I stepped inside.
My world narrowed to Harley. She was stunning on a normal day in sweats, her hair in a ponytail, just a swish of mascara. She was drop-dead gorgeous after the magic that spa had done to her. But she also looked…different.
She looked like she belonged in my sister’s inner circle. More grown-up. Like I was seeing a glimpse of the woman that she would become. And I liked every inch of it. I was lucky that I would be the man to see it happen.
At the same time, this wasn’t her. Gone were her black jean shorts and Doc Martens. The dark red lipstick that was nearly black. The smoky eyes that looked straight through me.
In its place was an elegant dress, a shade of white that was almost cream, but not quite. I had never seen her in all white before. Her normally pale skin was tan from the afternoons we’d been spending in my pool and on the lake, so the color glowed against her skin rather than washing her out. Her blonde hair framed her round face, and those ice-blue eyes lit up at the sight of me. As if she’d just woken from a dream to find it was real.
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. There were no words for the way the light played along her face or the twinkle in her eye or the twist in my gut that said she was mine. Nothing else mattered.
So, I strode across the room and into the dim-lit bar, ignoring everything else in existence except my girl.
I swept her up into my arms. She laughed when I lifted her straight off her barstool, tossing her arms around my shoulders.
Then, I kissed her.
And I kissed her.
And I kissed her.
Like I could not last another second without her lips on me. Like I would die in the next breath if I couldn’t have her.
I half-considered carrying her out of the bar just like that and home and into my bed, where she belonged. I had to physically pull back and remind myself that wasn’t why I was here. Yes, I wanted to take her away from here, but I needed to make sure she first wanted to be saved. And then I needed to have a word with my sister.
I lowered Harley back to her feet.