Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
The moment we step through the diner’s door, the whole place goes quiet. It’s not the kind of quiet that feels warm and comfortable. It’s the kind of quiet that feels like every set of eyes is on us. And right now, those eyes are definitely on her.
Sienna stands out like a diamond in a pile of rocks, all polished and pristine in that fancy dress, her heels clicking against the tile floor like some kind of royalty. But instead of taking the adoration that she’s owed, Sienna looks like she wants to sink into the floor. This is exactly what she didn’t want, dammit.
My jaw tightens. The hell do they think they’re doing, gawking at her like she’s some kind of spectacle?
She’s used to it, I can tell. But still, I don’t like it. My eyes flick to the few guys scattered around, and they all know what I’m thinking without me even needing to say a word. The last thing any of ‘em want is to catch my gaze for too long. I put enough fire in my eyes to dissuade them, and one by one their eyes move from my Sienna to the floor where they belong.
I lead her to a booth in the back. It’s not the most glamorous place, but the coffee’s hot, and the food’s cheap. I slide into the booth, leaning back, letting my arms rest on the edge of the seat as I watch her sit across from me.
She’s still looking a little lost, her eyes darting around the place, probably feeling out of place with the worn vinyl seats and cracked linoleum floor. She’s out of her element, and I get that. Hell, I’m out of my element with her, but I’m determined not to show it.
The server walks over, but I get my order in first. “Two coffees,” I say, keeping my voice steady.
She loads up her coffee with cream and sugar while I take mine black as pitch. I had to get used to it, drinking instant coffee on the road for so many years, and now it’s what I prefer. Nice and bitter.
I lean back and let her do her thing, watching as she stirs the sugar in slow circles, relaxing bit by bit. I’m not in any rush. Hell, the longer we stay here, the better. I know what my next move is to keep Sienna around, but it’s going to be a lot easier to convince her if we can have some time to really get to know each other first.
She’s fucking stunning, her skin almost glowing.
“How old are you, Sienna?”
“Twenty.”
Fucking twenty. I bark out a laugh. “Christ. I’m 39.”
It looks like she’s about to say something, but the server swings back by, and Sienna is more than ready to order. The coffee must have perked up her appetite. “I’ll have a stack of pancakes.”
“BLT,” I add.
Sienna takes a sip of her coffee and sighs in happiness.
“Way better than that pond water back at the rest stop, huh?”
“Unbelievably so.” Her smile is genuine, but I can see the wheels turning in her head. She’s probably deciding how much she wants to tell me and how much she wants to share. I want to know it all, but I’m a patient man. I can wait.
Sienna gets a refill on her coffee and drinks half of that too before she sighs heavily and her shoulders relax. I can tell she’s ready to open up, but I still wait for her to make the choice.
“Garrett?”
“Hm?”
“I guess I should explain myself a little after my outburst back there, huh?”
“Princess, in your own time.”
It is the right thing to say. She takes a deep breath, her fingers tightening around her cup. “I was supposed to marry this man named Charles Westfield. I’m from…we’ll just say a wealthy family in New Orleans, and Charles is worth twice what we are. But I didn’t want anything to do with him. I wanted to travel, especially to France, to see the Louvre because I love painting, but…” Her voice cracks just a little, and she looks down, like the words hurt to say. “Everyone expected me to marry Charles and be a good wife, give him some heirs. I blanked when he proposed a few weeks ago, nodded, and then before I knew it, I was at my own engagement party tonight.”
It all pisses me off more than it should, almost as much as thinking about the woman I’ve already decided is mine being engaged to someone else. Her ridiculously gaudy engagement ring winks in the diner light, probably worth enough to buy the entire diner. Sienna and I are from different worlds, there’s no doubt about that.
I keep my eyes on her, trying to read between the lines. “Sounds like that was all laid out for you, huh?”