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)
“Wilder, you can’t do all this.”
“Sure I can. Already did.”
“Wilder—”
He cut me off. “I have to jump on a quick conference call. I’ll pick you up at eleven. Be downstairs. And I like the green top best. Later, Cupcake.”
I turned around to find Emily and her assistant laying out outfits all over the living room. I shook my head. “I’m sorry. But I can’t accept all of this.”
“Your boyfriend knows you well.” She smiled and kept going. “He said you might say that, so I’ve been instructed not to take anything back. Sorry.”
There was another knock at the door. Still feeling bamboozled, I went to answer it. A man in a suit stood behind a full room-service cart. He smiled. “Good morning. Where would you like your breakfast set up?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t order anything.”
“The order was called in by a gentleman. He said you might be confused.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”
The man I needed to argue with wasn’t here, and I was starving since I’d slept through dinner last night, so I stepped aside. “Come on in. Join the party.”
18
WILDER
She wore the green top. This woman was killing me.
Sloane stepped out of the elevator and looked around the lobby. I stood just as she found me and couldn’t help but grin as she approached.
“Alright, alright. Don’t gloat,” she said. “I’m wearing the green because I like it best, and it’s also the most practical—not because you said it was your favorite.”
“Right.” My smile widened.
Sloane squinted. “You know, I can go back upstairs to change and keep you waiting another half hour, if you want?”
I caught her hand, weaving our fingers together. “Not a chance. You look gorgeous.”
She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth tilted upward. She liked my compliments, even if she pretended she didn’t.
“Come on…” I tugged her along. “I have a whole day planned.”
The valet had kept my car waiting nearby. The kid jogged to get it and pulled it to the curb. When he got out, he went to open the passenger door, but I waved him off. “Got it.”
“Now this is more what I would expect you to drive,” Sloane said as she buckled in.
“Because it’s hot and sexy?”
She laughed. “Because it’s flashy and looks like it could get you in trouble.” She glanced to the center console. “It’s not a stick shift?”
I shook my head. “Are you asking because you want to drive?”
“Definitely not. I just kinda liked watching you drive the other one.”
I slipped the car into gear. “I’ll switch with my assistant permanently.”
She laughed like I was kidding. “So, what are we going to see first? The London Bridge? Big Ben? Buckingham Palace?”
“Actually, none of those. I thought today I’d show you my favorite places in London rather than the touristy crap. Tomorrow I’ll take you to all the sites where you can buy a snow globe and an I heart London T-shirt on the way out.”
Sloane rested her hand on my arm, and I felt a jolt. Damn … what would it feel like if she touched me a little lower, maybe on my third arm?
“Thank you for doing this,” she said. “All of it. The flight, the hotel, going shopping early this morning so I would have something to wear. It’s so thoughtful.”
And I was … thinking of her. I was up to my eyeballs in contracts, meetings, paperwork, and negotiations—so much so that I hadn’t slept that well last night because I kept remembering more things I needed to do and adding to my list. But right now, right at this moment with Sloane wide-eyed excited to see the city? I didn’t give two shits about any of that. I couldn’t even remember what was on the damn list now. That scared the shit out of me as much as I welcomed the break.
I winked. “The things I’ll do just to touch your underwear.”
The first stop on today’s sightseeing tour was my absolute favorite place in London. I’d never come here with anyone before, and as we approached, I started to wonder if it was such a good idea to bring Sloane. I couldn’t put my finger on why the place was so special to me, but I hoped she wasn’t bored with my pick. Though as soon as we walked into the park, Sloane’s eyes widened. She looked like a little kid walking into Disney for the first time, and whatever nerves I’d had about bringing her here immediately settled. It helped that the sun was hitting just right, making everything glow like the forest in Twilight.
“What is this place?”
“It’s an old church called St. Dunstan in the East. It was originally built in 1100 AD. It was damaged in the Great Fire of London in the 1600s and later rebuilt—only to be destroyed again during the Second World War. Now the ruins are a public garden.”