Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
“Be back in a minute,” I said to Dominic.
He shook his head as he saw where I was heading. “Thought you said you didn’t care,” he called after me.
“I don’t,” I called back. It was both the truth and a lie. I didn’t care that Noemi’s aristocratically good-looking fiancé, David Romero, was at her side, holding her hand, looking suave and French and secretly engaged to my ex-wife. I did care that Destiny had come in without Andrew, though.
I made my way through Noemi’s group, grinning and shaking hands with the ones I knew, introducing myself to the few I didn’t. David nodded at me formally and tightened his grip on Noemi’s hand. “We’ll see you next month?” he asked, his voice heavy with implication. And the implication was, she’s mine.
“I was at the first one, wasn’t I?” I asked, unable to resist.
Noemi smacked my arm lightly with her beaded clutch and smiled beautifully. “Knock it off, Garrett.”
I reached Destiny last. Part of that was by my design. I didn’t want anyone standing at my elbow, waiting to say hi. Part of that was her design. She kept moving away and falling into conversations with other people, like maybe I’d go away if she didn’t look at me.
No such luck, Destiny. When I reached her, I touched her arm and grinned, like, remember me? I spread my arms wide, and she had no choice but to step into them. Looking at us, an outsider might have thought we hadn’t seen each other since she played Noemi’s little sister. They definitely wouldn’t think we’d been yelling at each other in a narrow hallway just a few days ago.
“Where’s Andrew?” I asked in her ear as I closed my arms around her.
“You’re ridiculous,” she hissed, her slim arms sliding around my back.
It was the closest we’d ever been. Closer even than the other day, though I had the feeling she’d still be yelling at me if she could get away with it. I was surprised by how good she felt in my arms. All soft skin and cool silk and curves. Funny how I’d seen a dozen pictures of her in a bikini and still not realized how perfectly proportioned she was until she was pressed up against me.
Okay, it’s been long enough. Let her go, a voice in my head suggested.
But her hair smelled amazing. Like honey and flowers with a smoky undertone that kept the sweetness from becoming saccharine. I inhaled.
Noemi caught my eye over Destiny’s shoulder, a small frown flickering across her face. I’d seen that frown before. It said you’re making the wrong scene.
I released Destiny, wondering why she hadn’t dug one of her pointy heels into my instep. To my surprise, she didn’t look pissed. She looked almost as wrongfooted as I felt, like she didn’t know what the hell had just happened.
“You’re not following the plan,” I said, keeping the pleasant so-good-to-see-you-again smile firmly fixed in place.
“I–” Destiny looked up at me, her blue-green eyes with their golden flecks questioning. She was wondering if I had felt it too. Of course I fucking had, but I wasn’t going to admit it. There was no point in talking about it.
“Where’s Andrew?” I asked, pitching my voice an octave higher.
Annoyance cut through her confusion. Her dark brows slanted together. “He’ll be here soon,” she said with sudden and unsettling determination.
Just at that moment, Andrew came through the door. He looked worn out, relieved to be away from the galaxy of camera flashes. He had a small group around him, but when he saw Destiny, he smiled widely and made a direct line for her.
I knew without even looking that I wasn’t the only one who had noticed. There was a ripple of murmuring. I heard the words ‘so cute’ on a dozen lips. Even in this hard nosed, cutthroat industry, we were all suckers for sentimentality.
Destiny played her part, too. Her face lit up as she walked toward him, meeting him halfway between their two groups. Perfect for visibility, but they underplayed it. They didn’t kiss or even hug, but instead stood very close, smiling as they spoke in low voices that even the closest inside source couldn’t have picked up on. The effect was intimate instead of ostentatious. Just right.
So why was my jaw clenched so hard that my molars felt like they might crack?
Noemi came up beside me, her eyes questioning. “What just happened, Garrett?”
“What do you mean?” Despite my best efforts, my voice came out short. Sharp. “I’m doing what you asked me to.”
She arched a perfect eyebrow. “I asked you to hug Destiny like she was a life raft and you were drowning?”
Noemi had an irritating talent for hyperbole. I shot her a severe look. “Keep your voice down, Nome.”
“Keep your hands to yourself then,” she said in the exact same tone. “The public has just started seeing pictures of her with Andrew. You think rumors that she’s hooking up with Noemi Thompson’s ex-husband will help her career?”