Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“You should have called anyway to check on them.”
“Yes, of course. That was the other reason. But I can’t check on them if they’re not there!”
“You have their addresses, right?”
Evie nods. “River, I can’t give you that information.”
“Can’t or won’t?” River demands.
“Can’t. They signed contracts with me as the matchmaker for this event. I’m allowed only to disclose the city and state they live in. Nothing else. This is for their protection. Do I have to remind you that all four of you gentlemen agreed to this?”
I stalk toward her. “I don’t care what any of us agreed to. Ginger is a doctor, for God’s sake. She wouldn’t allow Rachel to leave against medical advice.”
“Maybe that’s why they left. Ginger felt she could take care of Rachel.”
“Don’t make shit up, Evangeline. Ginger’s a dermatologist, not a neurologist. Now turn over their addresses. I can see Sienna safely to the mainland and get her on a plane home, and then I can hop a commercial flight to wherever the hell Ginger and Rachel went.”
“What if they didn’t go to either of their homes?” Evangeline asks.
“Where the hell else would they—” I stop, pursing my lips.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I breathe in, trying to stay calm.
“Besides,” Evangeline continues, “you need to be here. I need you more than I need them. We can replace two women. There’s no replacement for you.”
I shake my head slowly. “This is over, Evie. Face it.” The realization actually lifts a weight from my shoulders than I didn’t even know was there.
“River, please. I’m begging you.” Evangeline drops her cigarette butt into an ashtray and plunks into a chair. Her face is paler than usual. “What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room.”
Finally, is someone going to level with me? She seems skittish, so I need to proceed with caution. “Whatever it is, you can trust me.”
Evangeline sighs. “Sebastian is right. Misty has some information about me. Information that is very, very sensitive. It has the potential to harm a lot of people. A lot. She swore to me that if I gave her a chance to come to this event that she’d keep my secret. River, you have to understand what’s at stake here is not just a job. My life—and others—could be in danger. Misty is harmless. I’m sure of that. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. She just wants something for herself, something that her rich father can’t control. This whole thing has gotten out of hand because I need Misty to keep my secret.”
I’m not moved by her pleas. “No dice. You have to level with me. The whole truth, Evie. I need to know what we’re dealing with here. What does Misty have on you, and how does she even know?”
Evangeline shakes her head, tears in her eyes. “I can’t tell you. Misty and I were friends before all this, and she guessed, River. It was bad luck. We were close, and we still are. Sort of. Misty doesn’t quite understand that friendship doesn’t include blackmail.”
Damn. And this is the woman who wants me? In Misty Holmes’s dreams.
Evangeline swallows again. “Misty and I have to keep a professional relationship so none of the other women accuse me of bias.”
“This is all very touching, but I’m a beef rancher, Evangeline. That means I know a lot about bullshit. I can smell it miles away, and frankly, your story reeks. I’m going to take Sienna to the mainland, and if I can’t chase down Rachel and Ginger, I’m going home. You still have three billionaires to work with.”
Evangeline jumps to her feet and sniffs back her falling tears. She grips my shoulders. “River, you don’t understand. It has to be you. I don’t know why—I really don’t—but Misty wants the chance to get to know you. You have to be here or our deal is off.”
I summon what little patience I have left and deftly remove Evangeline’s hands from me. “Listen to me. Any deal between you and Misty was not part of your deal with us. You and I both know that, and frankly, it isn’t my problem. Nor Brett’s, Seb’s, or Alex’s. That’s on you. If Misty was the friend you say she is, she’d keep your secret.”
Her lips tremble. “River, you don’t understand. She’s set on you.”
I furrow my brow, holding back the temptation to grab Evangeline’s shoulders as she did mine. None of this makes a lick of sense to me. Why in hell would Misty, who’s never met me before in this lifetime, decide I’m the one? And why in hell is Evangeline so set on it as well? I don’t like where this is going.
I inhale and exhale slowly. “Tell me the truth. Did you promise me to Misty? Because if you did, you had no right.”
“No, I swear.” Evangeline shakes her head, still sniffling. “I promised her two weeks. I said she’d have two weeks to get to know you and if at the end of that time you didn’t choose her, that she’d have to accept that.”