Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Pressing the green app, I see that it’s the thread I have with my sister, Callie, and my cousin Zoey.
Callie: I need someone to hook me up with one of the hot guys from the hockey team.
Zoey: I can’t help you there. My husband is an executive. You need to get Ryleigh to help you.
Callie: Where is she?
Zoey: She should be there any second.
Callie: There is this guy at the bar, I think I heard him say his name was Nikolas or Atticus.
Zoey: Pics or it didn’t happen.
Callie: Okay, I’m now deceased.
Zoey: I’m coming, what happened?
Callie: I tried to snap a picture of him but it’s so fucking dark in here that my flash went off.
Zoey: RIP, you will be missed. Also, rookie mistake.
I shake my head and try not to laugh out loud as I take a couple of steps and run smack into someone. “Oh my God,” I quickly blurt when I feel hands on my upper arms. The heat from their hands going right through the lace of my sleeves. “I’m so sorry.” I look up and into ice-blue eyes. But they’re not all the way ice blue, the border around them is darker and all you can do is stare into them.
“Ariella?” His voice is smooth and husky all at the same time, and my eyes widen in shock.
“Wait, Jaxon?” I say his name, my mind finally placing him as he moves his hands off of me, and I take a step back to look at him. “Hi.” I move into him again, this time to kiss his cheek. “I haven’t seen you in, like, forever.” His musky cologne makes my knees buckle a little.
“Yeah.” He takes a step back and out of my way so he can look down at me. My five-foot-six height is nothing compared to his six-foot-whatever frame, I think, he’s a foot taller than me. “I usually can get out of attending certain things,” he starts, putting his hands in his pockets and I stupidly give him an up and down, “but this is one I couldn’t get out of.”
“Same,” I admit to him, laughing as he does his own up and down of me and I have to say I’m really happy I wore this black dress. It shows off my toned legs, as well as the toned body I spend seven days a week doing Pilates for. “I couldn’t get out of it.” I look around, wondering if he’s here with someone.
“When was the last time I saw you?” he asks me, and I’m taken aback by his question as he stands here talking to me.
“Whenever it was, you didn’t have the beard.” I point to the soft beard he has, which makes him look even more rugged.
“I think the last time I saw you, Zoey was sneaking you drinks, since you weren’t of age,” he jokes with me and I push his shoulder.
“I think I had just turned eighteen, if I’m not mistaken.” I shake my head, smiling. “What about when you were sixteen and got drunk in one of the hockey suites during a game, and you threw up on Evelyn’s shoes?” I remind him and he throws his head back and lets out a barking laugh. “It’s ’cause of you that for the next ten years all alcohol was monitored and they brought in a bartender.”
“I forgot about that.” He puts one hand to his stomach and I see the ink on his hand, and my mouth waters. He has definitely added that since the last time I saw him. “Definitely good times.”
“There you are.” I see his sister coming up to him and her eyes light up when she sees me.
“My favorite babysitter in the whole world,” Tori declares, hugging me tightly as she moves me side to side. “Ariella used to always bake with me,” she says to Jaxon.
“I’ve never seen you bake in my life,” he tells Tori.
“It was a million years ago,” she scoffs at him, “I was eight.”
“And it was not her strong suit,” I cut in, “but she was good at other things. No one could color quite like her.”
He just stares at me and, for the first time, I feel nervous around him, which is crazy since I’ve known him my whole life. He is seven years older than me, so we never really hung around with each other too much. I was probably the young annoying kid who was always asking him questions. When he got older, he was never really around, especially once he got drafted.
Our fathers played hockey together and then retired at the same time and worked in the front office of the organization, side by side. They are still the best of friends and vacation together all the time. My phone buzzes in my purse. “I have to get in there before they send out a search party,” I tell them and Jaxon nods.