Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say, except that I’d better not ever cross paths with that Josh for taking something that meant so much away from her.”
Harry smiled. “The bottom line is, you seem like a decent-enough guy. But when my Sloane loves, she loves hard. She’s had a lot of loss and letdown in her life, and some of that is still healing. I’m not telling you to keep away, because my daughter is a grown-ass woman and has a good head on her shoulders. But I’m asking you to think twice about what you want before you chase her too hard, because I don’t want her hurt again.”
12
SLOANE
“Holy crap. If you have sexy lingerie under there, I might consider switching teams,” Elijah teased.
I smiled and did a twirl. “You like it?”
“You look smokin’, Sloane.”
I loved the color of this dress, and even I had to admit it hugged me in all the right places. It was a simple slip silhouette with spaghetti straps, but the cowl-neck front showed the right amount of cleavage and made my body into an hourglass. “I figured this beautiful, old mansion on the beach deserved more than the boring little black dress I usually go to these things in.”
“Riiight. That dress is for the venue.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Are you seriously going to tell me you didn’t think of a certain blue-eyed Adonis when you were picking out that dress?”
“Absolutely not,” I answered waaay too quickly.
He chuckled. “Whatever. What’s going on with him? Anything new happen since he showed up at your house and took your dad on a date?”
I found lipstick in my purse and stood in front of the mirror lining my lips as I spoke. “I haven’t heard from him. It’s for the best.” I wouldn’t admit it, but I was a little disappointed. Wilder hadn’t popped in after dropping Dad off after the game, and I knew he’d been in New York the last couple of days. I kept expecting him to show up at the office or the bar. But I’m sure he was busy.
Elijah made a face. “Why? You have to be attracted to him. The man is a work of art. If they hung his mug at the Louvre, I might consider going to a boring-ass museum.”
“He’s handsome, yes. And I’m actually surprised how much we have in common. But he’s a playboy.”
Elijah shrugged. “Who cares? You don’t want a relationship right now, anyway. What’s wrong with having a little fun with the guy?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but then shut it. Twice.
Elijah lifted a perfectly groomed brow. “Got nothing, huh?”
I squinted at him. “Shut up.”
“Sloane, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. And he’s the perfect candidate for a fling. He’s a busy guy who lives on another continent. Can’t get too attached when you’re not seeing each other all the time.”
“I work for his dad.”
“Big deal. You don’t work for Wilder, and he doesn’t work for his father, it seems.”
“We have completely different lifestyles. The incredible mansion next door where the wedding is being held is owned by the father of the groom. It’s their summer place. And this hotel we’re in right now? They own that, too. This is Wilder’s social circle.”
“Who gives a shit? None of that matters, especially not if you’re keeping it casual and having a good time.”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “But we should get going. They’re using the library as a bridal suite. We should shoot some pictures of it.”
Elijah stood. “Okay, but if the bride asks you to fill in for a missing bridesmaid again, you’re saying no. I’ll put the dress on rather than have you take that one off.”
* * *
“Why aren’t the emergency spray-tan police here?” Elijah whispered.
I giggled. “I think they ran out of solution after using it all on Bridezilla. I can’t believe she showed up like that.”
The Bridezilla we were referring to wasn’t today’s bride, fortunately. It was Piper, the horrendous one from last time. Today’s bride was sweet as could be. She hadn’t even flinched when Piper walked in looking like the Great Pumpkin. I still couldn’t believe the woman had showed up looking exactly like what had made her throw a hissy fit at her own wedding. Unbelievable. So far Piper’s was the only face I recognized from last time, though I suspected many of the groomsmen would be familiar since the series was based on fraternity brothers.
“Is everyone ready to let the guys in?” the mother of the bride asked the room. “I thought it would be nice to make the introductions in here, rather than as you’re about to walk down the aisle, since many of you haven’t met your partners yet.”
A murmur of sures went around the room before she opened the door to the library. The first man to walk in was none other than Wilder. He flashed a Hollywood-worthy smile that came with a shy, aw-shucks wave.