Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
I glance at Holly and she rolls her eyes. We both think our cousin is slime.
“Great,” Mom says. “David will be here any minute, I assume.”
“That’s right. What’s for dinner?” Dad asks.
She smiles as she picks up an oven mitt. “Your favorite. Chicken, rice pilaf and mixed vegetables. John, go wash up while we sit down and wait for you.”
He nods and as he walks out, I realize how grateful I am that Mom and Dad have no idea that I’m in a blackmail situation with Chandler. Although they’d believe me that I did nothing wrong, I don’t want to put the burden of Chandler’s threats against me on their shoulders.
“Taylor, sweetie, are you okay?” my mother asks.
I look up and realize she’s put all the food on the table. She and Holly are sitting, waiting for Dad and me to join her. I shake my head, dredge up a smile, and sit down. “Sorry. I got lost in thought but I’m with you now.”
The doorbell rings, and Dad calls out, “I’ve got it.”
When he returns, my cousin David is with him. The man who is perfect for the political world, considering he’s a suck-up to anyone of importance.
“Hi, David,” my mom says.
“Hi, Aunt Adele, thanks for having me.” He kisses Mom on the cheek, then walks to Holly and gives her a brief embrace.
I’m next, and I stiffen as he pulls me in for a brief one-armed hug.
We eat dinner, talk, and everyone laughs like the warm, close family we are, minus my cousin. Unfortunately for me, I can’t bring myself to enjoy the dinner I’d otherwise looked forward to. Even when David asks me questions, they feel pointed, like he’s trying to uncover something I might have said or done wrong.
“Taylor, was that you I saw at a café downtown last night?” David asks.
I pause with my fork midway to my mouth and lower the utensil to the plate. No use lying, so I nod. “I had a meeting with a donor nearby earlier in the day.”
He meets my gaze, and I don’t miss the half smirk on his lips. “Who was the man you were sitting with?” he asks.
Now my entire family is staring at me, curiosity in their eyes. Holly’s eyes are wide, and I know she’s worried for me. Because everyone thinks I’m seeing Chandler, although I haven’t led them to believe we’re serious. And if they ask, I’d tell them I’m doing the senator a favor by joining him at his events.
“Actually, he was a stranger who needed a place to sit because he was starving and there were no empty seats.” I pick up my fork again and take a bite.
“That was nice of you to let him join you,” Holly says.
I nod. “He seemed pleasant enough for the twenty or so minutes we were together.”
I hate lying to my family, but I know David is prying for information. In fact, I’m surprised Chandler hadn’t already been given all the details about my dinner companion before I saw him for lunch, but if he’d known, he wouldn’t have been silent about it.
“I noticed you rushed out before I could come by and say hello,” David says, his brown eyes dancing with amusement as he continues to put me on the spot.
“I didn’t see you so …” I shrug. “Holly, do you want to get dinner one night this week?” I ask her. Though I do want to see her so we can catch up when we’re alone, I also want to change the subject.
It works. Soon everyone is chatting about things that have nothing to do with me or Jack, the stranger who didn’t just sit with me while he had dinner but took me back to his room and gave me more orgasms in one night than I’ve probably had in my entire life with any other man.
I squirm in my seat at the memory and reach for a glass of cold water.
After dinner, Holly and I help Mom clean up. David says he needs to leave, thanks Mom for the meal, and rushes out. Holly departs a short time later. Before I take off, I join my father in the family room.
Drawing a deep breath, I lower myself to the sofa near the Queen Anne chair with the footrest that he loves.
He meets my gaze. “I’m sorry about our dinner guest. I know how you feel about him, but he called and all but invited himself,” Dad says.
I nod, unsurprised. “He’s a weasel. He kisses up to Chandler every chance he gets,” I mutter.
Dad laughs. “Always has been a suck-up, since he was a kid. Trying to get away with things and always getting caught.”
I smirk because he’s right. “Politics is the perfect place for him. There are enough slimy people he can hang with.”