Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
***
Two-and-a-half hours later, I polished off my second glass of wine as I got ready for the wedding from hell. I looked in the mirror at my outfit. Oliver was right. This dress was fashion forward—almost art—but it wasn’t very sexy. And after a day like today, coupled with the night I was about to have, I needed more. So I quickly changed into the near-scandalous green dress and finished getting ready. A town car was picking me up in less than ten minutes, yet I poured another half glass of liquid courage and chugged it.
Just as I slipped on my stilettos, the doorbell buzzed. The driver was early, and I still had to put my jewelry on. I walked to the door to let him know he’d have to wait, but when I opened it, my jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Brock? What are you doing here?”
CHAPTER 17
* * *
February
“Hey, beautiful.” He smiled.
Oh my God.
Standing before me was the most incredible sight my eyes had ever had the pleasure of seeing: Brock in a tux.
Brock with his hair slicked back in a way I’d never seen before.
The black tuxedo fit him like an absolute glove, and he smelled like pure heaven.
Before saying another word, he lifted me into the air and kissed me so hard I thought my lips might fall off. I felt light as a feather in his arms. With every second that passed, it felt like I was coming alive again. The depression I’d experienced since returning from Meadowbrook disappeared as I melted into him.
When he finally put me down, leaving me painfully aroused, I took a moment to catch my breath. “Well, hello to you, too, sir,” I panted.
“Surprised?” He beamed.
“Beyond.”
“I told you I’d come.” His eyes lowered to my body. “You look freaking amazing, Red. God.” Brock shook his head. “I thought red was the color of the devil, but apparently, it’s green. That dress makes me want to cover you with my body all night.”
“You have my permission to do that,” I said, disregarding all of the progress I’d made in trying to distance myself. Brock was so much harder to resist in the flesh.
“Be careful what else you tell me I can do tonight. I might just take you up on it.”
“Brock, what’s happening here? I can’t believe you came. I just assumed when we said goodbye—”
“A promise is a promise, Red. Did I not tell you I would accompany you to this wedding?”
“Yes, but you never mentioned it again. I assumed with the way we left things that you’d decided better of it.”
“Gonna be honest. I really wanted to be here, but I didn’t think I was gonna make it. Got fitted for a tux a while ago while you were still in town, but then my brother went and scheduled a surgery for today. I’d promised to help him recover at my place. But I was able to get my other brothers and a couple of locals to look after him in shifts for the weekend.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe you went through all those hoops just to come to a wedding with me.”
“Then you’re underestimating how much you mean to me, Red.” He rubbed the back of his hand against my cheek. “It’s not about the wedding for me, though.”
“You have no idea how much it means that you’re here.” I reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Work has been so stressful. And I’ve missed you every second of every day on top of that. To go from not knowing if I’d ever see you again, to this…” I pulled back and looked into his beautiful eyes.
Before I could blink, his mouth was on mine again. I didn’t want to mess up his slicked-back hair, yet I couldn’t help digging my fingers into it. The heat of his body felt like it would singe my dress right off of me. Maybe we should just skip the damn wedding altogether. A night in sounded like a much better idea.
Brock suddenly stepped back. “We’re gonna be late. We should go.”
“You sure we shouldn’t just skip it?” I wasn’t exactly being facetious.
“We can’t, Red. We need to make a scene.” He winked.
“Okay.” I grinned.
“Plus, my driver is waiting.”
The idea of Brock having a driver amused me. I couldn’t picture him sitting passively in the backseat of a car. Anything other than him bulldozing his way through Manhattan in his big red truck didn’t make sense.
“Your driver, huh? Since when do you have a driver and wear tuxes, Brock Hawkins?”
“I already paid him to stay and take us to the wedding.”
“Cool. Thanks. I’ll cancel my ride.” I took out my phone.
With that task managed, Brock and I headed outside and into the back of the waiting black Town Car.
As the driver took off, Brock moved close. He reached over and found the slit in my dress, slipping his hand underneath it. The heat of his touch sent shivers through my body. He slid his palm all the way up my leg, stopping where my thigh met my hip.