Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 103(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“I like the idea of privacy.” He closed the door behind him and walked across the room. When he reached her, he braced his hands on the arms of the chair, his face too close to hers. “You’re always playing hard to get with me, Gabriella. How can we get to know one another if you’re always pushing me away?”
She breathed in and did her best not to gag or scrunch her nose in disgust. She couldn’t place the type of alcohol on his breath. Mixed with his expensive cologne, it was a tear-inducing smell.
“Come on,” he said. “One kiss. You’ll see how much you like it.”
She hadn’t kissed him and never would. “I need you to step away from me,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest because they were completely alone. She doubted her mother would come looking for her when she’d be only too happy Gabby was making time for Preston.
“Stop playing coy,” he said, annoyance in his tone. “You know we’re a done deal, right? Your parents want an intimate connection to my family bank. They won’t take no for an answer, so let’s test our compatibility,” he said and smashed his lips against hers.
Ugh, no. She shoved his shoulders, attempting to push him off but he was stronger and wouldn’t budge. Instead, he shoved his tongue into her mouth.
"Ugh, no.” She shoved his shoulders, attempting to push him off, but he was stronger and wouldn’t budge. Instead he thrust his tongue in her mouth. She immediately bent her knee and jammed it into his groin.
“Dammit!” He stepped back, grabbing his nuts and glaring at her. “You didn’t have to do that!”
“You didn’t hear the word no!” She jumped up from her seat and brushed past him, rushing for the door while he, hopefully, was taking his time, rubbing his balls before returning to the party.
She ran down the hall, bypassing the living area full of guests. Then, not wanting to call attention to herself, she slowed as she approached the front door.
“Gabriella?”
Only one person could have stopped her from fleeing. She turned toward her widowed grandmother Annabelle, who was her father’s mother. Due to her debilitating arthritis, she lived with them and had her own wing in each of the family homes, where she stayed with her full-time caregiver. Her grandmother was Gabby’s main source of affection growing up and understood her in uncanny ways.
“Grandma, I need to get out of here.”
Annabelle narrowed her green-eyed gaze. “I saw that weasel Preston, stumbling out of the library holding his balls. Did he try something?” she asked, raising her cane and waving it in the air. For her age, Annabelle was as insightful as a woman raised in modern times.
A much-needed smile came to Gabby’s lips. “Thanks, but I handled him.”
“Aah. That was from you,” her grandmother said with a wry grin. “I don’t know what your parents are thinking, expecting you to marry that spoiled, obnoxious excuse for a man.” She shook her head. “Aaron is my son but money changed him. Your mother, too,” she said, making a dismayed clucking sound. “I lost the argument when it came to your sister, but she never had your spirit and was willing to do their bidding. You need to fly, my beautiful girl.”
A lump rose in Gabby’s throat because without her grandmother, Gabby would have been the oddball, lost in her staid family. “I love you, Grandma.” Gabby pulled the frail woman into a hug.
“I love you too. Now go before they come looking. I’ll cover.” With a wave, her grandmother turned back toward the party.
When Gabby got older she wanted to be a badass like Annabelle, she thought, as she let herself outside and asked a valet to bring her car, a gift from Annabelle for her college graduation.
Once settled inside the vehicle, Gabby took off. Away from the house and feeling free, she knew just where she wanted to go. The Back Door was a bar she’d visited last summer when they’d first opened their Hamptons location. The atmosphere was casual, fun and best of all, nobody would come looking for her there.
* * * *
Maddox James walked into The Back Door, the bar he managed, and nodded at the hostess waiting to serve the guests who preferred tables to standing around the bar.
“Everything quiet?” he asked Sheila, who had been with the place since their opening. Maddox had come on a few months after.
“Yes. Nice turnover in the dining area.”
A glance told him every table was full, with more people waiting outside. The owners, Zach Dare and Remy Sterling, would be pleased.
He nodded. “Keep up the good work,” he said, then walked straight through to the bar where Cal, the head bartender, held down the fort. “What’s going on tonight?” Maddox asked.
Cal looked up from the glass he was holding and wiping down the counter with a rag. “The usual,” he said. “And I’ve been keeping an eye on her.” He tilted his head toward the end of the bar.