Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I think so.” He bends his injured knee. “The icing helped.”
So did a day having his dick polished by Katie and Rachel, I’ll bet. “Dorian will be pleased. He was seconds from weeping yesterday.”
“Are you surprised I’m his favorite?”
“Nope.” And I don’t know how Connor does it because he is always the most annoying person in the room.
But there’s something more important we need to discuss. “Look, Britt and her friend are staying here this weekend, so don’t be inviting anyone else, okay?”
“Shut the fuck up.” Connor slams the fridge door and turns around to give me a full-frontal view. “I’m going to meet Little Lyle?”
“Not like that, you aren’t.” I jut my chin at his flaccid penis. “And she’s off-limits, so don’t even think about it.”
“Dude.” His laughter is way too raucous for this time of day. “You, of all people, don’t get to lecture me about staying away from sisters—”
“You didn’t even know Ryan until a few years ago.” It’s a weak excuse, I know, but I’ll use everything in my arsenal where Britt’s concerned. “I swear, you lay so much as a hairy little pinkie toe on her and our friendship is fucking over.” I deliver that with my index finger in the air and the hardest look I can muster at this hour. “She’s my baby sister, and unless you can commit to never looking at, talking to, or so much as breathing in any other woman’s direction for the rest of your goddamn life—”
“Okay, okay, I got it.” Connor’s hands are in the air in surrender. “Is her friend hot?”
“Yeah, and also off-limits.” Dani’s been Britt’s best friend since they were five years old. I taught that kid how to ride a bike and picked her sobbing little body up when she fell off said bike. She’s as close to a sister to me as anyone can be without being Britt. The last thing I want is for either of them to end up with a guy like Connor. Or one like me, for that matter.
Connor’s face twists with displeasure. “Fuck, man, you’re killing the weekend party vibe, and it’s only Tuesday.”
“There is no vibe here this weekend. No parties, no strip Marco Polo, and no walking around naked.” Shit, I almost forgot. “Tash might be staying here too.”
That earns a raised eyebrow. “The ex is coming to Mermaid Beach?”
“Yeah.” I give the thirty-second rundown about the Golden tickets and Belinda’s instructions.
By the time I’m done, Connor is shaking his head and laughing. “And she rides at dawn, you sucker.”
“Not happening. Not on me, anyway. I’ll barely be here. My schedule is jam-packed. I don’t have time to think, let alone anything else.” I fell asleep reading about the Axis Core CEO’s rare mineral collection.
“Really …” A pensive frown touches Connor’s face, so contrary to the comical cowlick sticking straight up in the air. “So you don’t mind if I show her around.”
“Around town or your dick?”
He shrugs noncommittally.
I think on that for a solid five seconds. Does the idea of Connor and Tasha hooking up elicit any sort of reaction—a tight chest, a burn of jealousy, the urge to punch him in the face, like I felt yesterday when Sloane was asking questions about our sordid past and I thought she might be interested in hooking up with us both?
No, it doesn’t.
Not even a little bit.
That reality makes me smile. “Have fun playing tour guide.” I head for the stairs.
“Olivia McEowan,” Archie prompts, his short legs working double time to keep up with the pace of my long ones down the hall.
“McEowan,” I echo, digging through my memory to find relevant facts. “CEO of Black Titan, a multinational oil and gas company with operations in Texas and Alberta, Canada. Olivia took over for her father ten years ago, after he died in a skydiving accident that investigators deemed suspicious but could never prove foul play. News flash: someone definitely fucked with his parachute,” I ad-lib. “Olivia owns a horse ranch and likes to bathe in her billions after Sunday church.” That last part is also in interpretation but likely accurate.
Archie snorts.
“Her close friends call her Ollie, but she doesn’t allow anyone else to. Husband left her for the nanny. Three children, all girls, all compete in equestrian sports. The youngest shows Olympic promise in …” I struggle for the specific one.
“Show jumping—”
“Show jumping. Honestly, man, equestrian sports and competitive duck herding? This is what I have to work with?” I toss an annoyed glance his way. “What is the point of meeting with these people anyway?”
“To get them to book their events here.” He says it like I should know this. “You’ve got a meeting with Belinda about it this afternoon. It’s in your calendar. She wants to go over special events targets for the next two years.”