Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Boss bitch?” I laughed. “Hardly. If I come off that way, it’s only because I do a great job pretending I’m not keeping myself stitched together with old gum and tape. On the inside, I’m a disaster.”
“You’re not. You have personality. Like your ski accident. That’s fun. A boring old sister who only cares about work wouldn’t do something that cool.”
I smirked. “Nearly dying on the slopes was cool?”
“Being adventurous enough to try an advanced slope when you hardly know how to ski was cool,” Lily corrected. “Just like being brave enough to show up here with some smoldering hottie who is so far from your usual type. The normal Emma would’ve probably sent me a profile on him before he arrived. You would’ve briefed me on everything there was to know. But this time? You just rolled in and let it happen. I liked it.”
I blushed. She was right, of course. This whole thing was so far outside my comfort zone it was going to give me hives. But I was having fun. So long as I didn’t stop to think about why our mom had hired James to come here, or how heartbroken Lily would be if anything went wrong, or how my career would die its last death if James wrecked a second high-profile wedding I’d planned.
“It’s a good thing,” she said, grabbing my hand again and smiling. “So stop making that face like you’re about to barf. As the bride-to-be, I command it,” she added with a wink.
After making some excuses and steering the conversation to more innocent topics, our little tea date wrapped up nicely. Lily and Marcus had an appointment at the spa, so I wished her luck and asked her to save me some cucumbers, which she said was weird.
The rest of my afternoon disappeared in a blur of wedding preparations. The replacement flowers had arrived overnight, though I still needed to check if they matched the exact shade Martha Wellington had specified. I had more dishes to taste from Chef Antoine, a call to make about a missed flight from a cousin who wanted to know if I could still help him get a room, and a thousand other things.
I handled what I could on my phone as I spent an hour walking the grounds again, mapping out spots where the light would hit perfectly for photos. After that, it was more meetings with vendors, more details to coordinate, and a seemingly endless list of things I kept remembering I needed to worry about.
By six, my feet were killing me and I needed a drink, so I made my way to the bar in the resort’s main lobby.
I heard Dick's voice before I saw him, that distinctive drawl carrying from the bar.
"—perfect timing, really," he was saying to Richard. "Once it’s done, we can leverage her business connections. Those celebrity clients alone—"
"Careful," Richard warned. "Marcus hasn't sealed the deal yet."
What the hell did all that mean?
"Please. The girl is clearly infatuated,” Dick said. “And with our family name behind us, she’d be insane to pass up our offer. This could—”
"Emma!" Richard spotted me, his entire demeanor shifting as he gave Dick a hard nudge in the ribs. "Join us for a drink?"
"I was just—"
"Nonsense." Dick was already pulling out a barstool. "Bartender, get the lady a drink."
"Actually, I should probably check on—"
"One drink." Dick's hand settled on my lower back. "We barely see you except when you're attached to James."
I slipped out of his reach, making sure he didn’t try to touch me again as I kept my eyes on his gross hands.
"Speaking of James," Richard said, "I was asking Marcus, and he said Lily has never mentioned the man. Odd, considering he’s supposed to be an old family friend of your mother’s, isn’t it? And what a coincidence that you should happen to run into him and feel such… chemistry. If you’ve known him for years, why did you two wait so long to get together?”
God. He might as well shine a bright light in my face before he continued the inquisition. I opened my mouth to answer, but a familiar voice cut in before I could speak.
"There you are." James appeared behind me, his hand slipping around my waist as he pulled me toward his large body. The possessive touch sent shivers down my spine despite my better judgment. "I've been looking everywhere for you, sweetheart."
Richard's expression darkened slightly. "We were just getting to know Emma better."
"Were you?" James' tone was light, but I felt the tension in his touch.
Dick signaled the bartender again, who was busy flirting with a woman in a red dress and had been ignoring him so far. "Stay for a drink?"
"Actually," James said, "I have dinner plans with my girlfriend." He emphasized the last word slightly. "Unless you need her for something specific?"