Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
He looked down at his phone. “Lovely. Thank you. Is that because you still somehow think I stood you up?”
“It’s for being dumb and not coming to say hello just because you saw me talking to someone.” I should’ve stopped there, but instead I added, “Do you think I’m hung up on you or something because of my stupid mistake of a proposition? Is that why you thought your presence would trip me up in front of Brandon?”
“No,” he murmured.
“You don’t need to worry.” I looked down and muttered, “I’m over that.”
If Dorian was smart, he’d see right through me. He’d see that all of this was for his benefit because I was indeed still hung up on him, and the fact that he’d rejected me still stung just as much as it had when it happened. And that was so very bad. I needed to protect myself from getting hurt even more. An idea occurred to me.
“In fact…” I continued. “I think the sooner we become more comfortable with this living situation out in the open, the better we’ll be. There’s nothing to hide. I think you should meet us tomorrow night at Juno Bar. Bring a date.”
Dorian narrowed his eyes, seeming perplexed. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t have a date on a Friday night.”
After a brief pause, he proved me right. “I was supposed to meet someone for dinner.”
Of course you are. A rush of jealousy shot through me. Why am I like this?
“So bring her to Juno Bar. We’ll be there around eight.”
“Will you be offended if I say no?”
“Yep.” I smirked. “Plus, you owe me for flaking tonight, even if it wasn’t your fault.”
“I guess you have a point there. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you twice.”
“Great, then. I’ll see you tomorrow night. And if something comes up, you now have my number.”
“I do.”
“Good.” I pointed my finger against his chest. “Use it.”
“I will.”
Boy, did I know how to torture myself. Now I was pseudo-flirting with this guy? I walked toward the stairs.
“Heading to bed?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I turned, pretending to yawn. “I’m kind of tired, so…”
“Okay.” He nodded. “Can I show you something first?”
“Sure.”
We walked upstairs together, and he led me into the primary bedroom closet. I was shocked to find everything…gone.
I gasped. “Wow.”
“Benjamin took all their belongings to the donation place today. He left you the green dress. So, the closet and bedroom are ready for you whenever you want them.”
My mouth hung open as I looked around at the space. “It looks so empty.”
“That’s because it is.”
“I’ll move my stuff over the weekend. I really appreciate you letting me have the space.”
“It’d go to waste otherwise. But again, only use it if you want to. Don’t feel like you have to.”
“I genuinely want to. Thank you again.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“Maybe I won’t thank you verbally again. But I’ll have to create something for you in this space as a token of my appreciation.”
“I’ll accept that.”
I continued to look around. Then I turned to him. “You said you went to L.A. today. Do you normally have a lot of meetings there?”
“No. I can usually handle everything remotely from the Orion Coast office. But there was a potential investor in town from China. He wanted to meet with me personally before he went back.”
“Are things getting any easier at work?”
“In some ways, yes. And in some ways, no.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m getting more used to the job and dealing with some of the people who worked for my father. But there have also been some surprises—deals he made I wasn’t aware of. Things I don’t necessarily agree with in his business practices.” He sighed. “It is what it is.”
His eyes lowered to my chest and moved down the length of my body. “You look beautiful tonight, Primrose.”
I looked down at myself. I was wearing a black dress with a sheer lace design at the top. “Are you just saying that because I put on something other than a crop top?”
“Not just that. You were glowing when I saw you talking earlier, clearly in your element.”
“Jesus. How long were you watching me and not saying anything?”
“Not that long.”
“You’d never know I was bummed that you didn’t show, huh? I guess I’m a good actress.”
“You were that upset?” He cringed. “Again, I fucked up in not letting you know I was there.”
“Now that I understand what happened, it’s not a big deal. I’m not sure why it upset me so much. I guess I wanted you to see a bit of my life outside this house. I wanted to impress you.”
“You already impress me. Every day.”
Feeling shy, I looked away for a moment. “Why do we always end up talking in this closet?”
“Because you make it easy.” He grinned. “I used to hide in here, actually.”