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)
Following his gaze, Maddox saw a pretty, young blonde stirring her frozen drink with a straw. She wore a halter-top that covered her neck and ended with a soft ruffle beneath her chin. Her arms were tanned, her skin golden, and her soft hair fell over her shoulders, straight and silky.
She mixed the drink, staring into the glass, something obviously weighing heavily on her mind. From her dainty movements to her clearly expensive clothes, and gold Cartier Love bracelet gleaming on her delicate wrist, every instinct he’d honed over the years, and learned from his brief but lucrative career on Wall Street, told him she came from wealth.
So why was she drinking here where the common people gathered and not at daddy’s social club?
As he watched, her pink lips pursed around the straw and his cock twitched in his pants.
Fuck. Seems he’d learned his lesson about spoiled rich girls but his dick hadn’t gotten the message. “Did you card her?” he asked Cal.
“Of course, boss. She’s legal.”
“Barely, I’m sure,” Maddox muttered.
“Excuse me, Cal!” the woman under discussion called out, waving a hand to get his attention.
“On a first name basis already?” Maddox asked.
The bartender turned her way. “What can I get you, princess?”
“Princess?”
Cal shrugged. “What can I say? She’s a drunk-talker and I gave her a nickname.”
She pointed to her glass, indicating she’d like another.
“How many margaritas has she had?”
Cal shrugged. “This would be her fourth. But I was going to cut her off. She’s been going at it since she walked in a little over an hour ago. Rich girl with rich girl problems. I kinda feel sorry for her.”
“Excuse me,” another patron called out, an annoyed tone in his voice. “Can someone get me a refill?”
“Coming,” Cal said.
“And I’ll take care of the princess.” Maddox sighed and strode over to her end of the bar.
She glanced up with glassy eyes that grew wide at the sight of him. “Well, hi there.” Her gaze raked over him, approval obvious from her small smile.
“Hi yourself, princess.”
She perked up at the nickname. “Why can’t my parents want me to marry someone who looks like you?” Glassy emerald-green eyes fringed by long, black lashes, stared up at him longingly.
He shook his head and ignored her comment.
“Can I get another one please?” She pointed to her margarita glass, pursed her lips around the straw and sipped, making a loud slurping sound. “See? It’s empty!” The noise was unattractive but her subsequent giggle wasn’t.
He groaned. “I think you’ve had enough.”
She lifted one delicate shoulder. “I’ll ask Cal. He liked me.” She looked beyond him. “Oh Cal! Woo-hoo!” She waved a hand in the air to get the other man’s attention.
Maddox turned and shook his head at the bartender.
“Sorry,” Cal said loudly.
She sighed. “You’re mean.”
“And you’re drunk.” He picked up her glass, turned and put it in the rack before facing her again.
She sat with both elbows on the bar, a forlorn look on her face.
He sighed. “Okay, what’s the problem?” he asked, knowing if he was behind the bar, he had no choice but to play psychiatrist without a diploma.
First, he poured her a soda from the tap, then he walked over and placed it in front of her with a new straw, prepared to listen.
“My parents are pressuring me to get together with a guy of their choosing.” She made a disgusted face, letting him know what she thought of the man.
Maddox shook his head. Typical rich parents with 18th-century expectations. Marry off their beautiful daughter to someone equally wealthy and acceptable in their eyes. He’d seen it so often during his years on Wall Street, watched it up close at dinner parties he’d been invited to. Though he’d been new to their world, he’d also come up quickly, made a name for himself and had been considered a prime catch.
He almost felt sorry for the princess but he had no doubt with the right man, she’d be all in to do what her parents asked of her. All the women in her social circle did. And though he’d wanted the money, having grown up solidly lower middle class, it hadn’t been his scene. Something he’d learned pretty quickly.
“They had a party tonight with the typical Hamptons crowd,” she said, bringing him out of his thoughts. “I escaped to the library to get away from everyone and he found me.” She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and he stiffened.
“Did he touch you?”
She nodded. “He planted a big slobbery kiss on me. But I kicked him in the balls and ran out.”
Maddox was unable to stifle a laugh at her actions but the thought of any man putting a hand on her soft skin had his temper rising. Though she was definitely too young for him, he couldn’t deny the initial attraction. One he’d ignore.