Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Say you do convince her to move to New York,” Bennett says. “And dad and brother are happy. Are you going to marry her? How’s that going to go down with Joan?”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t need to ask my mother’s permission about who I marry.” As I say the words, they come out hollow. Technically, I don’t need my mother’s permission. I don’t need anyone’s permission. But honestly, if I was to marry Iris, my mother would have something to say about it.
“She wouldn’t be happy,” I concede. “But that wouldn’t stop me from doing what I wanted.”
“It might make life very difficult for the both of you,” Bennett says.
“Difficult, but not impossible.” Honestly, she could make life close to impossible for Iris. As could New York society. People in my life aren’t warm, fuzzy folks. They’re hard and suspicious and the exact opposite of Iris. No one in my life would accept Iris.
My thoughts are interrupted as the door to Grizzly’s opens and in walks a girl I swear I’ve seen up at the Colorado Club, together with the only woman I want to see—Iris.
My heart pushes against my chest and my breath leaves my body.
She looks incredible. She’s wearing a white shirt and jeans. Her hair falls down her back. Without it pulled back from her face, she looks a little younger than she did in New York. More carefree. It suits her.
She’s smiling as she comes through the door, like the woman she’s with just told her a joke.
Leo mumbles under his breath. “I think this means we can all go back to New York City now.”
“I gotta go,” I say, and I’m out of my seat and across the room.
“Hi, Jack,” the woman who’s with Iris says. “I’m Stephanie.”
Iris must have filled Stephanie in, and they both must have been expecting to see me here. That’s a good sign, right?
My gaze flits between Iris and Stephanie. Iris doesn’t look surprised to see me and her smile only fades slightly.
“Hi, Jack,” Iris says.
“You can buy us a drink,” Stephanie says.
“Sure,” I say. “What can I get you both?”
The women exchange a look. “Tequila!” they both say in unison.
I order the tequila—the same bottle that Byron ordered.
Stephanie turns to me. “And now you have to introduce me to your friends, so I have something to do while you two catch up.”
Iris wrinkles her nose. “Tonight was meant to be about you and me catching up,” she says.
Stephanie puts her hand on Iris’s shoulder. “I know. And we can do that. But these opportunities don’t come along very often. The two of you should talk.” She swipes the tequila bottle and two shot glasses from the bar and heads over to Bennett, Worth, and Byron.
“She’s a woman who knows what she wants,” I say.
“She’s been like that since she was sixteen.”
“It’s impressive.” I’m also grateful that she’s left Iris and me alone.
“I told her I thought you’d be here. I filled in a few blanks for her.”
“You thought I’d be here, yet you still came. You can’t want to avoid me that much.”
She sighs, her shoulders dropping, like she’s disappointed or something. “Now you’re here…”
I don’t want her to finish her thought. I don’t want her to say how we can be friends, or something that’s not about the two of us spending time together and exploring the connection we so obviously have. “You want to go somewhere and talk?”
She pulls in a breath and immediately I know she’s not going to say yes. What can I do to convince her? I can’t just let her walk away.
“I think we should stay here,” she says.
A speaker squeals from somewhere and then a guitar starts to play.
I watch Iris as she turns her head to see where the noise is coming from.
“It’s Eva. I didn’t realize she was singing today.”
I follow Iris’s gaze and see a woman sitting on a stool at the opposite corner of the bar. She has a guitar on her lap and there’s a microphone stand in front of her. I’ve never been here when they’ve had live music.
The song the woman starts to sing is familiar, but I don’t know the name.
“I love this one,” Iris says, turning a little. I’ve lost part of her attention and it’s like an arctic breeze tumbles in and blows down my spine.
I’ve lost this girl once. I don’t want to again.
She turns back to me, her gaze snagging on something behind me. “We have an audience,” she says, lifting her chin.
I turn and Worth is looking over. He’s just worried about me. Just trying to see if he can figure out if Iris and I are as connected as I think we are. He wants to be able to warn me if I’m going to get hurt, if this thing Iris and I share’s just in my head.