Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
She had a little black dress, but would it fit? Her waistline had popped and she doubted the garment would give her a sexy appearance, like she wanted.
Sexy?
Yes, she thought, sexy. If she was going out with Jared, she wanted him to look at her and like what he saw. There was a boutique in the hotel. She didn’t know if her good luck would continue but she intended to find out.
An hour later, a short red dress was being sent to her room along with a pair of strappy sandals. Her nails were now a matching color, and she sat with foils in her hair. The stylist insisted caramel-colored highlights would go well with her skin tone. When the timer beeped, her hair was washed, trimmed, and styled. Her luck continued to hold and the in-house makeup artist had a cancelation.
She walked out of the salon feeling like a different woman. One that would, hopefully, take Jared’s breath away.
* * *
Jared had to call in favors to rent out the private room in the restaurant. Normally the smallest room seated ten, but he’d requested the space be emptied out and they put in a table for two.
The limousine he’d hired for the night stopped in front of the hotel. Though he’d planned on meeting Charlotte at her room, he walked into the lobby to find her waiting downstairs. She was looking at something in a store window, giving him a chance to take her in.
Red strappy sandals adorned her feet and she wore a short red dress with glittering material that wasn’t fitted tight but draped her thighs and had him drooling. He couldn’t see the swell of her stomach yet but she looked different to him.
She glowed and from the sonogram they’d seen, she was carrying his baby. The size of a bean, the heartbeat made it all so real, affecting him on a primal level. He felt possessive, both of the little bean and its mother.
As if she knew he was watching, Charlotte turned to face him, causing him to stop in his tracks and stare. Her hair fell to her shoulders in soft waves and caramel-colored highlights shimmered under the ceiling lights. The low-cut dress gave him the perfect view of ample cleavage but the coverage was still enough to tease not over-reveal.
It didn’t matter that he’d seen her naked before. She left enough to his imagination to be sexy and his cock thickened in his pants. She’d always been gorgeous but knowing she was carrying his child made her irresistible.
She watched him approach, a smile on her red lips.
“Hello, beautiful.”
A light flush stained her cheeks. “Hi, yourself, handsome.”
He’d take the compliment.
“I appreciate you coming to get me but I could have met you at the restaurant,” she said.
He held out an arm and she hooked hers with his.
“Then it wouldn’t be a proper date, now would it?” He guided her to the exit and out of the building. He led her to the limousine where the driver held open the back door.
She stopped and stared. “Jared, where’s your car? Or a rideshare?”
“Again, proper date.” He stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter the vehicle, and he slid in beside her. A partition gave them plenty of privacy.
The driver shut the door and walked around, settling in his seat and starting the car.
Jared turned to Charlotte, who looked uncomfortable. He lifted a finger and twirled it in one of her curls. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She turned to face him and he dropped his hand. “I’m overwhelmed. By the lengths you went to today, the limo… I’m not used to this.” She ran her hand up and down, indicating her entire outfit.
“I, for one, am glad you went to the extra effort, but you should know I think you’re gorgeous with or without the glam.”
She ducked her head. “Thank you.”
“And the limo is because I want to wine and dine you, and make you feel special.”
“Well, you are and I appreciate it. I’ll stop making a big deal about it all.” She leaned back in her seat and he draped an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s going to take time to get downtown, so let’s talk. Tell me more about you. Where did you grow up?”
“In a small town in Connecticut. Easy enough for Mom to take the train into the city when she worked. I told you about her.”
He nodded. “And you mentioned you had a brother?”
“Dan. He tends to get into trouble and right now he’s playing coy, so I haven’t really spoken to him enough since I’ve been back.” She twisted her fingers in her lap and he covered them with his hand.
“So he doesn’t know you’re pregnant?”
She shook her head.
“What about your father?” he asked.
She moved her head from side to side.
As she discounted family members, he realized how alone she was, especially compared to his large group of relatives. Even Lizzie and Brooke were family. But he wasn’t only asking about hers because he wondered what her childhood was like. He was also curious about what had caused the walls she’d built and why they were so high.