Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“I know about William,” I say as soon as Percy is seated across from me.
He’s mid-sip of his large coffee so when his mouth falls open, a drop dribbles over his chin and lands just below the second button of his shirt.
“What do you know?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
If he questions me on everything, this will take all day. I shake my head. “I know you hired him to try and get me to fall in love with you.”
“Love wasn’t really what I was looking for.”
At least he’s being honest. I’ll give him that.
“You actually thought paying someone to trick me into marrying you was the right approach?” I snap.
Chuckling, he leans back in his chair. “I did think that, but the guy who sent me William’s way neglected to mention that William’s not into trickery. He made it clear very quickly that I had to earn your attention.”
I wrap both hands around the warm cup of tea to stop them from trembling. “What do you mean by that?”
“Dash, my friend, knows William. He told me William could help me land you.”
The phrasing could use some work, but I get the gist, so I encourage him to continue talking with a roll of my hand in the air.
“William worked with Dash to help him clean up his act so he could get his first girlfriend back,” he explains. “Dash was bitter and angry at the world. He had a failed business and two divorces under his belt, but his first girlfriend was the one who got away.”
“So William spent time with her to get her to see the real Dash?” My question is laced with sarcasm, but I don’t expect Percy to notice since he’s now trying to scrub away both coffee stains on his shirt with the pad of his thumb.
He shakes his head. “He worked exclusively with Dash since he already knew everything there was to know about Crystal. William helped him uncover the man he could be. He was by his side when Dash dealt with all the burdens he was carrying. By the time he asked Crystal out again he was a changed man.”
I assume Crystal is the first girlfriend, so I skip past that. “You sent William to find out about me, didn’t you?”
“He said something about checking to see if we were a good match.” He exhales audibly. “I told him that was a waste of his time because I saw you at a restaurant, felt that love at first sight thing, and knew you were supposed to be my wife.”
“So you lied to him?”
“Why I wanted to marry you was none of his fucking business.” He taps a fingertip on the table. “I paid the man to get you to marry me, and he failed. If he hadn’t canceled the contract, and given me a refund I would have demanded that he do both.”
“William canceled the contract?” I ask.
He nods. “Told me the hell off when he did as if he had a right to.”
I absorb every word, trying to process it all.
“I admit I wanted another shot because my granddad doesn’t have forever, so I tracked him down again after that, and he told me to leave you the fuck alone because you were involved with someone else.” He finally looks me dead in the eye. “William said it was someone who was crazy about you. He told me to work on bettering myself before I approached another woman.”
I take a sip of tea and glance at the doorway as the bell above it sounds.
“I’m not proud of what I’ve done,” Percy says in a low tone. “I did it for my granddad. I wanted him to be proud of me, so I thought getting Turquoise Crown back was the way to go. I seriously thought your aunt had fucked him over.”
“She didn’t,” I remind him because I’ll fight anyone who disrespects Hildy.
“I know.” He picks up his coffee cup but places it right back down. “William runs around this city as a savior. He stands up for women. He’s trying to get men like me to get their shit together. I don’t hate the guy, but the fact that he broke that NDA has me steaming mad. What did you pay him to tell you that?”
“Not a dime,” I say without hesitation.
“William was just being the hero again.” He chuckles. “Goddamn him.”
I push back to stand because I’ve heard enough.
“Leaving so soon?” he asks as he darts to his feet. “For what it’s worth, whoever the guy is you’re seeing, he’s lucky.”
I don’t think he genuinely means it, but I nod. “It’s William, or was William.”
Shaking his head, he rakes a hand through his short hair. “Why does that make perfect sense? I guess I’m the guy who brought you two together, so he owes me.”