Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“Thanks for coming,” he says.
“Happy birthday,” I say.
“I’m not sure what’s happy about it,” Ryder says with a grin.
“How do you two know each other, then?” Aurora says.
I grin at her confusion—and then realize I’m as confused as she is. “How do you two know each other?” I ask.
“We grew up together,” Ryder says, as I watch Aurora’s expression.
“We lived in the same village. The Westburys are like family to me,” Aurora says.
“So don’t think you’re stealing her away,” Darcy says. “She’s not staying in New York, even if she has been offered a big promotion.”
Promotion? I don’t let on that I don’t know what Darcy means by promotion, but I can see from her expression that Aurora feels uncomfortable that I’m finding out from her best friend something she might have told me herself.
But it’s not like she has to tell me. She doesn’t owe me anything.
“What do you mean, steal her away?” Ryder says. “Why would he steal her away? She’s already here.”
“Ryder, I’m not sure how you survive in this world. Deacon and Aurora are…having naked play dates.”
Aurora closes her eyes and tightens her jaw. “Darcy. Stop. Please.”
“Oh, was I not meant to say anything?” Darcy says, her gaze flitting between me and Aurora. She winces. “Sorry.”
“How’s business?” I say to Ryder, wanting to change the subject so Aurora can recover from her embarrassment. Aurora and Darcy break off and have a side conversation, leaving Ryder and me to talk slightly apart from them.
Ryder fixes me with a look. “Aurora is a very special woman.” He pauses. “Don’t fuck her around or I will hunt you down and kill you.”
Maybe I’m imagining it, but Ryder’s tone seems to be more intense than normal brotherly protectiveness.
“I have no intention of hurting her,” I say simply.
“Your intention doesn’t matter. What matters is that Aurora doesn’t get hurt. Don’t fuck this up.”
“Message received. I’m not…”
What am I going to tell him? That I’m not the kind of guy who fucks women around? I’m the kind of guy who never intends to fuck women around, but I’ve definitely hurt women I’ve been involved with before. That’s why I don’t get into anything. Too many times I’ve been accused of messing with women or leading women on. But it’s never my intention.
Now I try to highlight what I’m looking for in neon—I just want a physical relationship. There are going to be no catching feelings. Even then, I’ve been caught out here and there, and have been genuinely shocked when someone I’m sleeping with asks me to hang out with her friends or attend a function together. The answer’s always no, with a follow-up of, “I don’t think we should do this anymore.” I’ve always wanted to keep things very clear.
Until Aurora.
With Aurora, everything is different.
“She’s going back to the UK in a few weeks,” I say.
Ryder’s shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. She’s lovely. And I won’t let anyone hurt her.”
I frown, trying to figure out where his overprotectiveness is coming from. “Are you…have you two ever been—”
“We’re like brother and sister,” he interrupts me. “We’ve known each other our entire lives. Aurora hasn’t had the best time of it when it comes to relationships, and she deserves someone who treats her heart like glass.”
Aurora and I haven’t really discussed her previous relationships. I wonder what’s happened to make Ryder so protective.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say.
“Good,” he says.
“So get engaged or stop whatever it is you’re doing.”
I chuckle, thinking he’s joking.
The look on his face tells me he’s not.
Engaged? He can’t be serious.
“You need a drink. And so do I,” I say.
An older woman I’ve never met before interrupts us, whispers something in his ear, and Ryder excuses himself. I turn and grab a drink from a passing waiter. I take a glug, trying to process what Ryder said and whether or not it makes any sense.
Am I in danger in messing Aurora around? This wasn’t the easiest conversation to have, but Ryder’s right that Aurora’s heart should be treated like glass. Am I doing something that puts her heart at risk?
Aurora and I started from a place of having chemistry and incredible sex. Both those things are still true, but there’s something more there too. For both of us. But what does that mean? I haven’t given any thought to how this might play out. I’ve just been trying to spend as much time with her as possible. I’ve been enjoying her. I don’t want to mess anyone around. We both know she’s due to go home in a few weeks.
And that’s it, right?
The thought gnaws at my insides. I don’t want that to be it. I’m not ready to give her up, and I’ll probably want her to leave even less by the time she goes.
But I can’t ask her to stay. Can I? And even if I did, her entire life is in the UK.