Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“How was the flight?” he asks.
“Who knows? I slept the whole way. We could’ve flown through a tsunami, and I wouldn’t have known.”
Marston chuckles. “Can I get you a drink?”
“I’m good. I’m going to do some work when I get back to my hotel.”
He shakes his head. “Why the fuck are you still staying in a hotel when you come to town? You know we have plenty of room.”
“I know.” I don’t want to interfere. Marston and Brinley are finally getting all the time together they deserve, but after all the years they spent apart, it still feels too precious to intrude on.
I look around the room and realize it’s quieter than usual. “Where are Brinley and the kiddo?”
“Cami is with her dad for the weekend, and Brinley’s at girls’ night,” he says.
My stomach folds itself into a knot at the thought of her friends gathered around a table at Smithy’s, laughing and smiling. Looking beautiful as hell. Well, it’s only one of Brinley’s friends who gets me all tied up.
“Ah,” Marston says. “I get it.”
“Get what?”
“You won’t stay here because you’re hoping you’ll convince Savvy to come back to your room with you some night.”
I cough out a laugh. “Seems pretty unlikely.”
He cocks his head to the side and studies me for a beat. “You’re still hung up on her, aren’t you?”
I wish I weren’t. “If she wanted anything to do with me, I’d be there in a heartbeat, but she’s made her feelings on the matter clear.” Except I catch her watching me when we’re in the same room and find her leaning into me anytime we stand close.
He studies me for a beat, and I can tell he’s trying to decide whether to say more.
It’s not like I haven’t tried to get over Savvy. Over the last couple of years, I’ve dated around, even had a couple connections I thought might go somewhere. But for some reason, she’s still it for me. Even after all this time.
Marston sighs and shakes his head, clearly choosing to let it go. “When’s the crew arriving?”
I grimace at the thought of my family descending on Orchid Valley. “Tomorrow afternoon. Lord save us all. Are you sure Brinley is prepared to work with my mother?”
Marston chuckles. “Trust me, she’s worked with worse.”
The sound of the garage door pulls our attention from each other and down the hall. Seconds later, the sharp tap of heels is headed our way.
Grinning, Marston leaves me to greet his wife. “Hey, beautiful,” he says when she enters the living room. He wraps his arms around her waist before letting his hands drift to her ass. I pretend not to see. “You have a good night?”
“Sure did. We need to do that more often,” she says. “The timing was serendipitous. Savvy was dealing with some stuff, and it’s the first time in too long she’s talked to us about her stressors.”
My ears perk at her name. “What’s going on with Savvy?”
With a sigh, Brinley steps out of Marston’s arms and drags a hand over her face. “Someone wants to give her an interview, but she doesn’t think they’ll give her the job if she’s not married or at least engaged. I don’t really understand the whole thing, but she feels like a great opportunity is about to slip through her fingers, and it sucks for her.”
“The Rage?” I ask, remembering our conversation from Vegas. “The streaming service?”
The night we met, one of the first things we talked about was our careers. She told me she was a fitness instructor then cringed like she was embarrassed.
“I know what it looks like,” she said. “I’m this blond girl who likes to work out, and who makes a living getting others to work out. It seems so surface. But for me, the aesthetics are just a bonus. I love helping women be strong and teaching them how to be comfortable in their own skin. Everywhere you look, our culture is trying to make us feel bad about ourselves. We’re told we should want this part of ourselves gone or smaller, or these parts to be lifted or bigger or flatter or smoother. There’s just nothing quite like knowing what your body is capable of to make you learn to love it. After I figured out how much I liked being strong, I realized I wanted to help other women be strong too.”
I think that was the moment I fell in love with her. She laughed at herself for “sounding corny.”
Brinley nudges me with her elbow, bringing me back to the present. She’s beaming at me like I’m a student who just answered a difficult question. “How’d you know about The Rage?”
Because I make it my business to know all of Savvy’s dreams. “She said she applies every year. They’re offering her an interview?”