Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“You’re being very guarded about everything,” she says. “Normally you talk to me about your boyfriends.”
“Or lack of them,” I say as we head out of my room.
“And now that you finally have something to share, you’ve clammed up.” Katherine takes the stairs before me.
“It’s not that I’ve clammed up. It’s just . . . we’re both busy and not exactly living in each other’s pockets.” That’s not really true. We see each other for lunch as often as we can. On Thursday, Hunter was slammed, but I bought him a sandwich and took it up to him in his office. I pressed a kiss to his head, and he pulled me against him as he continued his conference call. It was only a minute or maybe two, but it was enough. Enough to keep me going until I saw him again. “And anyway, this week is about you, not about me and Hunter.”
“Maybe it will be about the two of you soon. You never know. Ed swears Hunter just needs to find the right woman to balance him out.”
“Balance him out?”
“Yeah, well, you know how he can be a bit of a grinch.” Katherine dips her head to look out the front window. “The car’s here,” she says to me. “Bye, Mom!”
Mom appears from nowhere. “Don’t be too late,” she says. “We’ve got an early start tomorrow morning and . . . Good God, Lucy. What are you wearing?” She looks me up and down. “And your hair!” She scrunches up her nose like I’m week-old trash. Maybe I should change. I have another outfit option.
“She looks great, Mom. See you later.” Katherine throws open the door, grabs my hand, and pulls me to the car.
“Do I look slutty?” I ask as we slide into the back seat.
“Sexy,” Katherine corrects me.
“Maybe I should change? I have some navy linen pants like yours I could put on.”
“I won’t let you. You look absolutely phenomenal. Don’t listen to Mom.” She squeezes my hand. “Fisherman’s Quay, please,” Katherine says to the Uber driver, who presumably knows exactly where we’re going.
We’ve arranged to arrive a little ahead of everyone so we can check the place settings and put name cards in the correct spots. The restaurant we’ve chosen is on the water and has a club right next door, so we don’t have to worry about walking in heels to get to where we need to be to start dancing. As we pull up, Ed and Hunter are waiting for us outside the restaurant.
“Did you know they’d be here?” I ask.
“No, I expected Ed to be late,” she replies, beaming.
Hunter opens my door and takes my hand, helping me out. His blue eyes flare as his gaze starts at my face and then drops to what I’m wearing.
He just nods, skims his hand over my waist and hips, and pulls me in for a kiss. “Are you trying to kill me with that dress?” he whispers in my ear.
Maybe I did choose it to make sure I had Hunter’s attention. So far, we’ve only met for lunch or drinks or dinner before going back to his place. Tonight is the first time I’ll have to share his attention, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to that part of the evening.
“Wow,” Katherine says from behind us. I spin to see her and Ed looking at us. “You two look very”—she frowns—“together.”
Hunter slips his hand into mine, and we all head into the restaurant.
“Are you all checked into your hotel?” I ask Hunter as we take our allocated seats next to each other.
“Lucy, do you want to be by me?” Katherine asks. “There’s no one here. I can easily swap you.”
“I’m fine wherever I’m sitting.” I squeeze Hunter’s hand. So long as I’m sitting by Hunter, I don’t say.
“Hunter, do you want to sit next to Ed? Or, as best man, maybe you could be next to me, and Lucy could be next to Ed. Then you’re opposite each other.”
I love my sister, and I’m so grateful she’s met someone like Ed, who I know will always look after her and do everything he can to ensure she’s happy. But right at this moment, I hate her. I just want to sit, hip to hip, with Hunter. To enjoy the woodsy masculine scent he wears and know he’s doing everything he can to stop himself from sliding his hand up my dress. “That’s fine,” I say, wearing my best fake smile. Hunter chuckles beside me, and I know he knows that sitting opposite him is the opposite of fine.
“Will you save me a dance later?” he asks as we stand.
“You better not be dancing with anyone else,” I say. We separate and arrive opposite each other.
“I think I’m going to move Gary and Melinda as well,” Katherine says. “They can go at the end. Right?”