Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Kerris walked up behind Walsh and slowly, surely slipped her hand into his. He looked annoyed for a moment and her heart fell. Then she realized he thought it was Sofie again. As soon as he saw her, his face transformed.
“Hey. I was looking for you.” He didn’t kiss her, but his eyes went thermal as they scoured all the bare surfaces of her body, sending feathers floating in her belly. She wished they were alone and he could peel the jumpsuit right off her.
“I was with Jo and saw you come in.”
She squeezed his hand, then lifted up onto her toes until she could reach his mouth. And in front of all the sharks, and with her eyes wide open and holding his, settled a kiss on his mouth, soft and certain. Walsh’s grin widened and he wrapped an arm around her waist before turning to face the other two men. Kerris could feel their curiosity, along with everyone else’s in the immediate vicinity, pique.
“Paul, Ernest, I don’t believe you’ve met my girlfriend, Kerris Moreton.”
Kerris ignored Sofie, who was choking on her champagne, and extended her hands to both men.
“So nice to meet you.” Kerris said, leaning into Walsh’s side.
“Kerris came through the foundation’s scholarship program,” Walsh said, pride coloring his voice and warming his eyes when he looked at her.
For the first time Kerris realized what an accomplishment he considered it. That she had worked hard and propelled herself into a future of her own making. She hadn’t grown up with the grooming or the opportunities most people in this room had, but she had made the most of every chance.
“Yes.” Kerris gave her smile and full attention to Walsh, wanting this moment for them. “Kristeene interviewed me herself.”
“And she loved you,” Walsh said, his eyes as fixed on hers as hers were on him. “You were always one of her favorites. If not her favorite.”
“Surely her favorite would have been Cam,” Sofie said, interjecting for the first time, her perfect white teeth camouflaging the fangs Kerris knew lay behind them. “Have you met Cam, Paul? He’s Kerris’s husband.”
Had the music stopped? Had all conversations ceased? Sofie’s voice fell into sudden quiet, and it seemed the silence swelled with the curiosity of everyone within hearing distance.
“Sofie,” Ernest Baston rebuked, his eyes uncomfortable as they shifted between Walsh and Kerris.
“Well, he is her husband, Daddy.” Sofie took a swig of her champagne, but Kerris knew the other woman was nowhere near drunk. She knew exactly what she was doing. “Not like I made that up.”
Walsh’s hand tightened around Kerris’s fingers and he cleared his throat. Kerris knew he was about to defend her. Make excuses. Anything to save face. For her. Because she knew he didn’t give an actual damn what anyone thought.
And now, neither did she.
“Sofie’s right, of course,” Kerris said before Walsh could start. “I am married to Cam, but we’ve been separated for more than a year. Our divorce will be final soon.”
Kerris looked back to Walsh, layering meaning in her voice that she hoped he heard.
“He’s a very good friend to both Walsh and me, and we wish him only the best.”
Walsh brought her fist to his lips and nodded.
“Kerris is right. Cam is a great friend to us both.” Walsh spread his grin around to everyone but Sofie. “Now what were you gentlemen saying about the sheikh? I need all the pointers I can get.”
Sofie huffed a disgusted breath and stalked off toward the restrooms. Oh, no. Not this time.
“Walsh, I’ll be back.”
He paused to cast a worried look in Sofie’s direction.
“Baby, maybe you should—”
She reached up until she could pour the words in his ear without anyone else hearing.
“Now it’s time for you to trust me.”
She pulled back and raised her brows, silently asking permission to go after the woman who had, in many ways, been such a thorn in her side. He brushed his fingers across the orchid charm she wore.
“Okay, but hurry back. I want to show you off.”
Kerris gripped the charm between her fingers as she walked, growing more confident the closer she got to the bathroom. Kerris saw Ardis, Rivermont’s mayor’s daughter and Sofie’s friend, as soon as she entered. Both she and Sofie were freshening their makeup in the mirror, and again Kerris felt like this night was a do-over cosmic joke. This had happened before. Only it had been Kristeene Bennett’s birthday. Kerris had huddled in a stall, hiding from her feelings for Walsh and wrestling with her answer to Cam’s proposal. And these girls had talked about her like she was not much of anything. Sofie had said Walsh would marry her.
Kerris looked at Ardis, not even bothering to smile.
“Would you excuse us…Ardis, isn’t it?”
“I don’t have to leave.” Ardis settled onto the counter, defiance painted on her face along with the heavy makeup. “If we—”