Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“But it’s your first date,” Blaire said. “You must be feeling something.”
“What did you feel on your first date with Campbell?”
Blaire laughed. “Well, we were in high school. He was the coolest fucking person in the entire school, and he noticed me skating at Sonic. I basically fell over myself about him every chance I got.”
“So…nothing’s changed,” I joked.
“Pretty much.”
“And you?” I asked Piper.
She sighed heavily. “I mostly could not believe I was sinking this low.”
We all laughed. Their enemies-turned-lovers relationship was legendary. We all turned to Nora to get her perspective.
“Oh.” She blushed as bright as a tomato. “Well, we kind of accidentally hooked up a few times while he was teaching me to date.”
“Teaching you to date!” Blaire gasped. “Nora Abbey, do not let your brothers hear that.”
“Oh my God, don’t tell them!” she said to both girls.
Piper laughed. “I was just glad to see you move on from August.”
“Tell me about it,” Nora said. “But once we started dating dating, it was just…” She sighed, going all starry-eyed. “And I want that for you!”
“All right,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll work on sighing heavily like I’m in a cartoon.”
Nora smacked my arm. “One day you’re going to be so head over heels for someone that you’ll understand. I hope it’s Whitton Wright so I can look back on this conversation and make fun of you.”
I shrugged. “If wishes grew on trees.”
The doorbell rang, and all the girls jumped up at once. Even I stumbled to my feet. As much as my bravado showed before the girls, I couldn’t deny that I had butterflies in my stomach. This was my first official date in more than a year. I was glad it was him, but it didn’t make me any less jittery. The last thing I wanted to do was fuck this up. I was becoming more certain that the girls wouldn’t turn their backs on me if it didn’t work, but it wasn’t etched in stone.
Plus…I liked Whitt. A fact I found I could no longer deny. That maybe this date could be the first of many. After all, he kept surprising me. He hadn’t asked about Evie Jo when we were in Midland, and he’d held me the other night after my conversation with Bailey. He didn’t push me to divulge more, and it was nice to feel safe for once.
The door swung open, and in walked our gentlemen. Hollin, Campbell, and West strode through the door. And then behind them, to my surprise, was Harley in a black mesh dress that clung to her every curve. She waved at me with a wide grin on her face. I waved back cautiously.
Then, Whitt entered, and everything else went hazy. I’d been making fun of Nora for her sighing over West. Now, I was here, unable to even form coherent thoughts. He was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. He’d gelled his hair back and shaved his sharp jaw clean. I wanted to drag my nails down that perfectly smooth skin to feel it for myself. He stood like a statue as he caught sight of me.
The green dress hugged my figure like a glove. As brilliant green as my eyes with boning running across it to give it structure and put my ample boobs on display. The straps were skinny black leather that only accentuated my cleavage. I opted for a bare throat and shiny teardrop diamonds in my ears.
“Wow,” he said as he approached me. “This dress…”
“A winner?”
“You could say that.”
I grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Thank you. I thought it was the one.”
“It is,” he nearly groaned.
“Hi, I’m Harley!” she interrupted. “You look hot as fuck.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I like your dress, too.”
“Thanks. I told my brother you were out of his league, but he decided to ask you out anyway,” she said with a grin. “Good choice on his part.” She leaned in with a wink. “You can do better.”
I snorted and glanced at Whitt to see him rolling his eyes.
“Harley,” he ground out.
“All right. I did my due diligence. We should get out of here.”
I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow, and we filed out of the house behind everyone else.
Whitt leaned down. “I’m sorry about her. She’s a menace.”
“She seems sweet.”
“She’s like a sour candy really. Sweet on the inside, but you have to get past the sour exterior.”
“Harley and I have that in common,” I said, deadpan.
He laughed in surprise. “I’m not sure I like comparing you to my sister.”
I bit my lip. “That’s fair.”
We hopped into the back of the limo with the rest of our friends, fitting snug in a corner, Whitt’s arm draped casually across my shoulders. Champagne flutes were passed around even though we were only driving the ten minutes to Wright Construction to use their penthouse restaurant for Jensen’s mayoral fundraiser.