Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“Thanks for coming,” Jason said. “This is my wife, L, and our son, William.”
L looked even more like her sister when she smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” I glanced at the baby, who slept blissfully unaware of the party going on around him. Most babies were cute, and this one was no exception.
Music filled the tent—a slow, sultry song about love. Shawn led his new wife onto the dance floor and couples began to pair up, drifting to join them. My stomach bottomed out.
“You can’t dance with me,” L said to her husband. “It’s almost time for me to feed him.”
Jason looked relieved at the idea of not having to dance, until she gestured to me.
“Uh . . .” we both said.
I was about as thrilled with this idea as he was. The tables around us emptied. He didn’t look like dancing was his thing, and I was sure it wasn’t personal when he appeared to search for a way out.
“Dance with her,” she commanded. “She came by herself.”
His anxious gaze settled on something and stilled, and his anxiety seeped away. “I only dance when I have a professional helping me,” he said. “And I see someone else who came alone, too.”
I turned, and the crowd parted at that moment, not that it mattered. He was a head taller than most people.
Soon finally became now.
27
OLIVIA
I stopped breathing. Even though Ethan was on the other side of the tent, I could see him clearly. He wore a jet-black suit with a crisp white dress shirt, and the tie was red silk. A darker red than my dress, slightly closer to the red of blood than the bright hue I wore.
Holy hell.
He’d been talking with a young man, the one I recognized as Shawn’s assistant, and it was as if Ethan could sense my gaze on him, because his head turned my direction.
Holy shit.
I’d forgotten how strong the effects of that stare could be. I flattened my palms against my thighs, pressing down and trying to calm the insane nerves fluttering inside me. Falling apart at the sight of a man? Weak. I wouldn’t allow it.
Even if he was wearing the hell out of that suit.
Holy fuck.
He ended his conversation and began his approach. I shifted my focus back to Jason and L, who stared at me, both grinning like fools. What—?
Oh, my God. That was when I realized I’d just said all those holy swear words . . . out loud.
“Olivia.”
I drew in a sharp breath and braced myself. “Ethan—”
He’d moved so close I had to tilt my head to look up at him. I couldn't breathe when his fingertips slipped behind my elbow and guided me with him as he backed up. That was, until he stopped moving and I collided with him. His thick arms encased me and gently shifted, encouraging me to move.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
The dark irises of his eyes were hypnotizing. “Attempting to dance with you, but you’ll have to start moving for it to work.”
Why was my brain so slow? Coherent thought was a challenge when he looked at me that way. I slid my fingers up his arms, over the smooth fabric of his suit jacket, and he took my hand. It was hard not to think about the last time we’d held hands, the moments after he’d severed his oxygen line.
“What are you doing here?” My voice was quiet, just louder than the melody wafting over us. “Are you done with the Abramos?”
“My part is done, yeah.”
His large hand was splayed out on my back, his thumb resting above the top of the zipper of my strapless dress, and it brushed over the bare skin there. The simple touch, the connection, was intoxicating. I’d been so lucky to find a dress last minute that not only fit, but was high enough to cover most of my scarred back.
“Oh.” That was all I could come up with. “Did you just get here?”
The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. “I couldn’t exactly hop on an Osterhägen plane.”
He brought our entwined hands in, setting mine on the hardness of his chest and closing his rough hand on top of it, by his heart where I could feel the steady thump below my fingertips.
It was a gesture that promised to spin everything out of control, and it was a good thing his arms were around me, because my legs were rapidly becoming useless. He bent his head, bringing his warm breath down to my ear, and that breathing grew uneven and quick.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered, his lips ghosting a kiss into my neck. A shiver slipped down through my body, and I uttered something that was supposed to be a thank you, but it was mumbled. The heat of his face went away, and he looked down at me with a gaze so intense I was sure he could see right into me.