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 smiled. “I know the type.” He held out a hand. “Dance with me?”
The tequila had gone to my head, so I figured why not? I gulped back the rest of my glass and set it on the bar. “Fuck it. Okay.”
He chuckled. “Don’t sound so excited.”
Wilder led me out to the dance floor. He took one of my hands in his, wrapped the other around my waist, and tugged me close. I looked up at him.
“What?”
“The polite thing to do when you dance with someone you barely know is to leave room for Jesus.”
His lip twitched. “What?”
“I went to an all-girls Catholic school. A few times a year we had these dances where we could invite boys, and that’s what the chaperones would say if they noticed our bodies touching—leave room for Jesus.”
He smiled. “Well, I’m cutting Jesus out of this one. You feel too good to leave an inch.”
That might be the first thing we’d agreed on. Wilder’s body felt pretty damn amazing. Not surprisingly, he knew how to dance. The way he held me was bold, and his steps kept perfect time with the music, leaving my brain to think about other things he’d probably be good at. He had me in such a tight clutch, I had to crane my neck to pull back enough to look at him while I spoke. “When do you fly back to England?”
“The day after tomorrow. Will you miss me?”
“About as much as you’ll miss me.”
He smiled. “So heaps then.”
Heaps.
He twirled us around. “Tell me, Sloane. What would you be doing tonight if you weren’t here working?”
“I’d probably be helping my brothers at the bar.”
“Not out with a boyfriend?”
I frowned. “Not anymore.”
“It sounds like there’s a story there.”
“Isn’t there always?”
“I suppose.”
I didn’t want to share that story, so I pushed the question back at him. “What would you be doing?”
“Lately? Scouring the streets looking for my little brother who sneaks out.”
I hadn’t expected him to say that. But it made me smile. “I have two older brothers. They came looking for me a few times.”
His face was hopeful. “You learned your lesson?”
“I learned I didn’t get caught as easily if I snuck my boyfriend in, rather than sneaking out to meet them.”
Wilder frowned. “Great.”
I laughed. “How old is your brother?”
“Fifteen going on twenty-five.”
“I have a fourteen-year-old niece. I get it.”
Elijah came onto the dance floor. “Hey. Do you have the—” He did a double take when he got a close-up look at Wilder. “Wow. Now I get what you meant about those eyes.”
Wilder smirked. “Discussing my appearance with your friend, are you?”
I ignored his comment and spoke to Elijah. “What were you going to ask me?”
“Oh. Do you have the coat check ticket they gave you when they stored my camera equipment?”
“It’s in my purse. Why?”
“I need something out of my bag.” I noticed the cute guy he’d been talking to earlier waiting anxiously at the edge of the dance floor. I was a little afraid to ask what he needed.
“I’ll grab it for you.” I pulled away from Wilder, but he firmed his grip.
“Is your purse on the table?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Wilder lifted his chin to Elijah. “Grab it yourself, will you, mate?”
Elijah’s eyes sparkled. “No problem.” He wiggled his fingers and rushed off in a hurry.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked Wilder.
“Dancing.”
“You can’t tell someone it’s okay to go in my purse.”
“Is it filled with secrets?”
“No. But that’s not the point.”
He shrugged. “Okay. So what is the point?”
“You just—that’s rude. It’s my purse.”
Wilder looked me in the eyes. “I wasn’t ready to let go of you.”
I was annoyed, yet oddly flattered. And tipsy now, too. And … I really liked the way it felt when he held me. Which meant I needed to put some distance between us—make room for Jesus and my sanity. I shook my head, wiggling out of his hold. “I need another drink.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I don’t need an escort.”
“A drinking buddy?”
I hesitated.
“Do you know anyone else here except for me and the lovely bride?”
“No, but—”
Wilder released his hold around my waist, only to slip his hand into mine and tug. “Come on. One drink. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
I hadn’t been sure it was a good idea to have one drink with this man.
Which meant two was a terrible idea.
And that third we had, that was the one that landed me in the coat closet …
4
WILDER
“Thanks, mate. You’re a lifesaver.”
The waiter counted out the cash I’d handed him. “No problem. You ever want to pay three hundred bucks for a cupcake again, I’m your guy.” He stuffed a few of the bills into his front pocket. “Oh, and if you happen to run into the chef who made these, you paid two hundred for them, not three.”
I chuckled and shook my head—the same head that I was pretty sure I needed to get checked after what I’d just shelled out for a freaking cupcake. Though it was still warm, and smelled pretty delicious, too. I should’ve negotiated a little extra for being fresh out of the oven.