Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
The woman’s eyes bounced between Dawson and me. It was clear she didn’t know what the heck to say or do, so I helped out a little more. I flashed an over-the-top smile and thumbed toward the golf carts. “That way to the ceremony.”
She nodded, still looking confused, but she and her date walked away. I watched them climb onto the golf cart and start down the path into the woods, then grinned up at Dawson.
“She was definitely jealous.”
“Or thought you were insane. What the hell was that?”
My smile fell. “I was helping you.”
“Helping me what?”
“Make her feel some jealousy, too.”
“Too? I’m not jealous.”
I pursed my lips. “Your teeth were clenched so tight, it looked like you were going to crack a pearly white, Dawson.”
“Because that woman has a lot of balls showing up here with that asshole. He and I used to be friends. Not because I’m jealous.”
“I know jealous when I see it.”
“Did you hit your head with that cast on your arm?”
I scowled. “You don’t have to be a jerk. I was only trying to help.”
Dawson pointed to his face. “I have a black eye, and I’m going to have to sleep on a couch tonight. I think you’ve done enough.”
***
Ben and Lily’s wedding was the most beautiful ceremony I’d ever been to. There wasn’t a dry eye in the forest today. Even my partner had to wipe his eyes a few times. Though knowing him, he’d probably deny he had tears like he’d denied being jealous earlier.
Speaking of which, Mr. Grumpypants caught my eye from the other side of the dance floor and walked my direction.
I looked away, not wasting any more of my attention on a man who didn’t appreciate it. But when he arrived before me, he extended a hand. “Would you like to dance?”
I frowned. “There’s no obligation to ask me to dance just because I’m your partner in the wedding.”
“It’s no obligation.” He added, “Please?”
I rolled my eyes, yet placed my hand in his. Dawson led us to the dance floor and wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me close. I’d never admit it, but it felt damn good.
“I owe you an apology,” he said.
“Hmmm… Would that be for breaking my knuckles with your face, insulting my dog, or yelling at me when I was only trying to help? You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”
He smiled. “All of it. But I was referring to what you did with Emily this afternoon.”
“Her name is Emily, huh?”
Dawson nodded.
“There was a mean girl at my high school who made fun of my winter boots for being Schmuggs and not Uggs. Her name was Emily, too.”
“Must run in the name.”
“Is she?” I asked. “A mean girl, I mean?”
Dawson let out a deep breath. “She wasn’t always.”
“How long were you two together?”
“Not long. Three months. But we were friends for years.”
“Can I ask what happened?”
“You could, but that assumes I know the answer. We were casually dating, not exclusive or anything. One day she asked me if I’d been out with anyone else. I was honest and said yes. She didn’t seem upset about it. A few days later, I walked into our office to find her getting railed by a friend of ours. On my goddamned desk.”
My eyes bulged. “That sucks. Is it that guy she’s here with today?”
“It is.”
“For what it’s worth, he looks like a douchey frat boy.”
Dawson’s lip twitched. “His name is fucking Tad.”
“I bet he says bro a lot, and probably pronounces it more like bruh, too. Bruh, did you see that chick I went out with last night? She was smokin’.”
Dawson chuckled. “That’s pretty damn spot on. Though the ladies do love him, for some reason.”
“I suspect that’s only true when you’re unavailable.”
“Thank you. My ego was feeling as beat up as I look.”
“You said, ‘I walked into our office’… Does that mean you work with her?”
Dawson nodded. “She’s my partner.”
“Oooh. Messy.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Emily watching us. It made me smile that she didn’t seem happy. “Don’t look now, but your mean girl is at three o’clock, and she looks like she’s regretting her bad decisions. I think my ploy to make her feel jealous worked.”
“Wasn’t a hard job. Emily doesn’t like it when people are prettier than her.”
That stupid flutter went off in my belly yet again, even if he was just being nice.
“And for the record,” Dawson said, “I really wasn’t jealous. I’m more pissed off that she’s turned shit at work into a living hell. She acts like I’m the one who did something wrong, stomping around like it was me who screwed someone on her desk.”
“It sounds like maybe you hurt her by admitting you were seeing other people, and she wanted to hurt you back.”