Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“It’s fine. We were kids, and the truth was, I needed to drop some weight, my braces made my already ridiculously big lips stick out like a duck, and I had very little social skills.”
He didn’t appear relieved.
“This is Locke,” he told me, nodding his head at the guy I didn’t recognize. “Gathe’s brother.”
My guess had been correct. But then the more I looked at him, the more I noticed similarities. However, unlike Gathe, he was less of a talker, it seemed. He nodded his head at me in greeting, then went back to his phone.
Gathe stood up, and his focus stayed on me. “What would you like to drink? Name it. We even have the girlie shit.”
I opened my mouth to tell him a water was fine when one of the two glass doors that led outside to the far right of the room opened, and Ransom came walking in. The instant flutter at the sight of him couldn’t be helped, and neither could the smile that began to stretch across my face. However, the topless brunette behind him squelched all other reactions with a massive lead weight that landed in my gut. His eyes met mine, and I tried very hard to hold my smile, but I quickly jerked my gaze off him and the view of bare boobs behind him to Gathe.
He was waiting for me to tell him what I wanted. Water didn’t seem like it would help me get through this. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known Ransom slept around with women. I had. There was little I didn’t know about him. But seeing it? Whew, I hadn’t been ready for that.
My throat was tight, and I had to clear it before responding, “Red wine.”
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. “Merlot, pinot, zinfandel—”
“Cabernet. The bottle of Anakota,” Ransom replied, startling me. I wanted to look at him, but right now, I was still recovering. “I put it to the right of the Shiraz.”
I watched as Gathe pulled out a bottle of my favorite red wine. They really did have everything here. My brain slowly registered that Ransom had known not only my choice of wine, but the brand I preferred. It was the only cabernet that I kept in my apartment. Had I told him that at some point? I couldn’t remember, but then it was hard to think about anything with Miss Boobs USA in the room.
Gathe held up the bottle for me to inspect, and I nodded. I was afraid if I said yes or thank you, my voice would sound funny due to the thickening in my throat.
“Cover your tits, Cass,” Locke said without even looking in their direction. His focus was on the television now.
I could see Ransom grab a shirt off the chair from the corner of my eye and toss it at her. I swallowed hard and stared at the screen as if I knew what was going on.
“You hungry?” Ransom asked, and I wasn’t sure who he was asking. Me or her.
Since I wasn’t looking in his direction, I didn’t respond. I was no longer hungry anyway.
“Noa.”
Hearing him say my name—my real name—in that deep, husky voice of his only heightened the turmoil of emotion currently churning inside me.
I couldn’t ignore him now. I had to speak. Not make an idiot of myself. Placing my well-rehearsed smile on my face, I turned my head to him. “I’m fine,” I replied as pleasantly as possible, then went back to watching the football game.
Something happened on the screen, and Forge groaned as Gathe began to chuckle.
“I warned you,” Locke drawled, but didn’t look away from the action.
“You’ve not eaten all day,” Ransom said, entirely too close to me now.
I held my smile in place.
“I ate on my flight here,” I told him.
“That was twelve hours ago.”
Well, I lost my appetite at the sight of Big Boobs Sally.
Gathe was in front of me now, holding out a glass. “Here you go.”
Reaching up, I took it from him. “Thank you.” I wished it were possible for me to chug it down without witnesses.
“Come on,” Ransom ordered. “You’re eating something.”
I did not want to eat, and he didn’t get to tell me what I was going to do.
“I’m fine.”
“Shakespeare, do I need to carry your ass into the kitchen?” he asked, the warning clear in his tone.
Not wanting the entire room to witness that, I stood up. I’d force something down if that would make him stop talking to me. Then I could go to bed. Or at least close myself off in the bedroom.
“She’s a big girl. She can handle feeding herself.” A feminine voice made me tense up more.
“Come here, Cass,” Forge said, patting his leg. “Stay out of that shit, or you’ll set him off.”
The girl didn’t argue as she sauntered around the sofa, wearing the T-shirt that Ransom had worn earlier today. Why did that have to be painful? I was a grown woman, for God’s sake. How long was a crush supposed to last?