Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Sorry?”
“The Diamond Member stuff.” I get off the sofa and wander over to the coffee service and open the cabinet. “Here we go!” I pull out a tray containing a sleeve of crackers and a small jar of toasted almonds. From the mini fridge, I grab a platter with a wedge of cheese and a bunch of grapes.
Eric stares. “That’s awful nice for mini bar food. They’ll charge you a fortune.”
I grab a card off the tray and toss it to him. With our compliments, it reads.
“Huh,” he says slowly. “Must be nice to be a Diamond Member. Do you travel a lot?”
“Not as much as you do,” I point out. “Grapes?”
We do some snacking until Eric checks his watch. “I need to find a hotel room. It’s either that or go home, and I just…” He sighs.
“You could stay here,” I hear myself offer. “I mean… we could get you a rollaway bed.”
“Really?” He sets down the cheese knife and considers me. “Are you sure? You probably want your own private space.”
I point at the full-sized bedroom behind me. “But I’ve got that. Right there.”
“Oh, man, I appreciate the offer.” He pats the sofa. “And this thing is as big as a rollaway bed. I’d be pretty happy to crash on your couch tonight. You keep rescuing me, though.”
The embarrassing thing is how much more I’d do for this man if he ever asked me. Not that I’ll admit it. “This is what teammates do for each other, right, Captain?”
He passes me the grapes. “Damn right.”
Chapter 22
That’s in the Bylaws
Eric
At six o’clock, we make our way down to the beach for cocktails and dinner. Darcy wears a cotton dress that the breeze likes to ripple around her smooth legs, and I have a feeling I’m going to spend a lot of the evening trying not to stare.
“Wow, what a spread,” she murmurs as we reach the party tent. “Where should we start? With the oysters and work our way toward the sushi? Or the reverse?”
She bites her lip, and I try not to fixate on how pink and plump it looks in the golden evening light. “You pick.”
“Oysters, it is!” she says brightly.
I hope they’re not truly an aphrodisiac, I think as she hands me a plate. That’s just a myth, right? A few hours ago, I was stressed out and in pain, and now I’m thinking about sex. Must be on the mend.
“How’s your head?” Darcy asks as we squeeze lemon juice over our Wellfleets at one of the high-top tables they’ve set up on the beach.
“Fine,” I insist, “except when I look toward the sun.”
Wordlessly, Darcy switches places from my left side to my right, which puts her out of the direction of the sun.
“Want a drink?” I ask her. “There’s no line at the bar. I’ll make a run for it.”
“Sure! They’ll have a rosé, right?”
“At a summer wedding? Pretty sure that’s in the bylaws.”
She gives me a smirk as I step away. “Back in a jiff.” Then? I lean over and kiss Darcy on the cheek.
And oops. I get a whiff of her perfume, and it makes me want to step closer and pull her into my arms. But I do the responsible thing and step back, only to find her staring at me.
“Why did you do that?” she whispers. “Is someone looking?”
“Nah. You look pretty in that dress, is all.” And I’m a weak man. I walk away, heading for the bar before I say anything awkward. I request a glass of wine for Darcy and a club soda for myself, and I shove a ten-dollar bill into the tip jar.
Then I glance back toward the table where Darcy is greeting her father with a big smile.
“Ooh, drool much?”
I turn my head and find Maribel grinning at me. Oops. “Hey, you look fantastic. Yet another dress?”
She glances down at the white dress with pink flowers that she’s wearing, as if she’s never seen it before. “Eric Tremaine, are you trying to distract me?” Her chin snaps up again. “I wasn’t finished teasing you. You’ve got it bad. Anyone with eyes can tell.”
I take another involuntary glance toward Darcy, because I just can’t seem to stop. “You’re not the first person to say that,” I admit. “It’s a problem.”
“Is it, though?” She nudges me in the way that near-siblings do. “Did you two just arrive?”
“Sort of?” I drag my gaze back to Maribel. “Spent last night in Marblehead.”
“Oh, cool. How are your parents?”
“Well…” I let out an awkward laugh. “Not great, to be honest. But it’s nothing you should worry about.”
Her face falls. “I had a feeling. Your mom is always inconsolable in the summertime. She’s been texting me about…” Maribel sighs.
“A ridiculous photograph?” I guess.
“Yeah.” She purses her lips. “I don’t know what to tell her. Maybe it was a mistake to ask your father to give me away. Maybe they’re just not ready.”