Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Emily gave him a noncommittal hum as her only response. “How’s your hotel?” she asked.
“It’s perfect. More than I hoped for. Thanks.”
“Great.”
“Great.”
For a moment we simply stared at each other, some sort of tension swirling in the air. I wasn’t sure what it was, or maybe I didn’t want to look at it too closely. Didn’t want to see something that wasn’t there simply because I was way out of practice with women. All I did know was the hair on the back of my neck was standing up and my clothing began feeling overly tight as the seconds ticked by and neither of us looked away.
Charlie pulled Emily toward him, wrapping his arm around her waist and splaying his palm over her bare stomach. Emily startled slightly and looked up at him, her expression melting into adoration. “I’m glad to see you’re lip-synching, babe,” Charlie said. “Things will go a lot more smoothly that way, and you can give your all to the dance numbers.”
What? “You’re not really singing?” I blurted. I’d thought the recording was just being used for rehearsal purposes.
Emily’s eyes jerked to me. “No,” she said as she pulled her shoulders back. If she was trying to hide the defensiveness in her tone, she failed.
I remembered the sweet sound of her voice, the way her natural talent had been obvious to everyone from the time she was a little girl. “That’s too bad.”
“Is it? In my view, nothing about this seems bad.” She swept her arm around the room, indicating, I supposed, her entourage, the spotlights, the sequins, the bright and shiny fruits of her labor. Or her luck. Or whatever had gotten her here. Because apparently, it wasn’t her voice. They’d changed that into something robotic and unrecognizable.
I followed her arm, squinting into the dizzying lights, the electronic sounding track still playing, though softer now. They’d made her sound like a relative of The Chipmunks. It made me cringe. “You sure?” I asked.
“Very.” Her jaw was tight and if she was a bird, her feathers surely would have ruffled. That tension again. Swirling. Emily had stepped forward, and now her eyes blazed up at me, chin lifted stubbornly. I hadn’t felt myself move, but apparently I had, because suddenly, we were practically standing toe to toe, chests rising and falling in tandem. Her cheeks were flushed, and we were far too close. This was inappropriate and so was what I’d said. I stepped back.
The way she looked though… It reminded me of how she’d looked when she’d been a young girl and challenged a score, or a win, or a tag, or any other small rule loophole she could find. Which had been often. She’d never been a very graceful loser. The memories made me want to smile. Almost.
I hated all these memories that kept rushing back, ones I hadn’t even realized I still carried. Because they reminded me that I still held some tenderness deep down for the defiant little brat I’d once known.
But mostly, they made me dislike what she’d become.
“Uh, hey, Emily babe,” Charlie said on an uncomfortable chuckle, clearly confused about whatever was going on between us, something even I couldn’t exactly figure out. “Why don’t we go get a bottle of water? You gotta be thirsty after all that dancing.”
“I am. Thirsty,” she said, addressing Charlie but still staring at me. “Grab me a water, will you, Tuck?”
“I’m your bodyguard—not your gopher.”
Her mouth fell open.
Are you trying to get yourself fired, Tuck?
Maybe. Maybe I was. Because I had a recent history of being self-destructive. Reactive. Stupid. Prideful.
And look where it’d gotten me. I pulled in a deep breath. “It’s safer if I remain where I am, guarding this entrance. It’s been propped open for air all afternoon. Anyone could walk right in.” I softened my voice, motioning to the door behind us.
Emily’s gaze moved to the door and then back to me, narrowing suspiciously. But then she let out a slow breath as she stepped back, apparently appeased, at least for the moment.
She took Charlie’s hand in hers and, without another word, turned and began to walk away.
“Nice to meet you, Tuck,” Charlie said.
“You too,” I murmured as I lowered my sunglasses once more, grateful now that Destanie had suggested they be part of the uniform.
I watched Emily as she uncapped a bottle of water, tipping her head and drinking half of it, her slender throat moving as she swallowed. Charlie laughed at something the woman next to him said, leaning toward Emily as though letting her in on the joke, his hand resting on the small of her back and then sliding down to her ass before again moving up and coming to rest on her lower spine. She smiled at him half-heartedly. I massaged my jaw. She glanced over her shoulder at me, and I turned my head slightly so that it appeared I was scanning the small crowd. When she’d rejoined the conversation, I focused my gaze on her again, watching as she pulled at her top, grimacing and readjusting it. I saw the edge of a red welt where the sequined fabric had obviously dug into her flesh. So that was why she wanted me to wear tight spandex or whatever. She wanted everyone around her to be as uncomfortable as she was. I stretched my arms, glad I’d disobeyed the instructions.