Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
The only distraction I had from the woman was my writing. The book was coming along better than I’d expected.
The sight of pink hair in the distance drew me from my thoughts. The pulse throbbed in my neck as anticipation zinged through my every nerve ending.
I’d never felt like this, I realized.
It stunned me for a second.
Hallie spotted me outside the restaurant, smiled, and gave me that familiar little wave.
I swear that gorgeous smile of hers caused my heart to turn over in my chest.
It was warm enough to move around the city without a coat or sweater now, and she wore a long-sleeved dress that hit her mid-thigh. Despite her height, Hallie’s legs were so perfectly formed they always looked long. This evening was no different, as she walked toward me in sexy high heels. I admired the way she walked in those things, like they were merely sneakers.
Too busy reeling from the sudden overwhelming realization of the depth of my feelings for this woman, I hadn’t responded to her wave and still hadn’t greeted her as she drew to a stop in front of me.
She gazed up at me with those big dark blue eyes, and relief filled me.
Hallie was here.
I’d missed her.
“Captain.” She rested a hand on my arm, brows drawn together. “Are you okay?”
Reaching for her hand, I took it in both of mine. “I just missed you,” I confessed.
Her face lit up, and I knew I couldn’t dance around this any longer. It was obvious what we both wanted, and life was too damn short to mess around. Concerned but determined, I opened my mouth to tell her everything right there and then but was cut off by a booming voice.
“Hallie? Is that you?”
Hallie winced and muttered, “Oh God, no.” Then she pasted on a smile and turned around to look up at the guy and woman who approached us. “George, hi.”
George?
Her ex-boyfriend George?
I moved into Hallie’s side and grabbed hold of her hand. She shot me a quick look of surprise but squeezed my hand.
People made their way around us on the sidewalk as George’s eyes flickered to me for a second in confusion. He pulled the woman at his side closer to him. “Hallie, this is my girlfriend, Reese. She’s a financial analyst.” He drawled it, like Hallie might not understand what a financial analyst was, and with a puffed-up chest like he’d just announced Reese was president.
Also, he bumped into his ex-girlfriend, and the first thing he did was introduce his new girlfriend rather than asking after Hallie’s well-being? Yeah, this guy was some gentleman.
I studied him like he was one of the irritating sand flies that had tormented me and my unit while we were in the Middle East. George was taller than me by a good few inches. There was nothing extraordinary about him physically, and I knew from how he treated Hallie that he was a dick. So what the hell had Hallie seen in this guy?
“Hi.” Reese smiled sweetly. “George has told me a lot about you, Hallie. I like your hair. I’d never be so bold, but I wish I had the confidence to pull that off. And your dress. So cute. It goes with your hair. Is it a rinse?”
Hallie gaped at the rambling woman for a second and then gestured to me. “This is—”
“Oh, Hallie can get away with crazy hair since she works as a party planner.” George grinned like he’d told the best joke on the fucking planet.
I shifted toward him and felt Hallie squeeze my hand so hard it was almost painful. Looking at her, I watched her lift her chin and physically draw herself up.
“Actually, I’m an event planner for one of the most elite event-management companies in New York. And self-expression at Lia Zhang Events is almost a requirement. It’s important clients have a good sense of our creativity.”
“Lia Zhang?” Reese gaped, wide-eyed. “I’ve heard of Lia Zhang Events. Didn’t you guys plan Alicia Keys’s fortieth birthday?”
“I can’t talk about clients.” Hallie shrugged with an insouciant confidence that made my lips twitch with pride. “Anyway, George, before you rudely interrupted, I was going to introduce you to—”
“Her boyfriend,” I blurted before I could stop myself. I held out my hand to the prick. “Chris Ortiz.”
George frowned but shook my hand, and I dropped it immediately, feeling tainted. “Ortiz? Is that Mexican?”
“It is.” I narrowed my gaze on him as he smirked, as if this somehow pleased him. And that wasn’t me being paranoid. I could read this asshole like a book.
“And what is it you do?” George asked, his nose practically in the air.
“I’m an astronaut.”
His girlfriend’s eyes lit with recognition. “Oh my God, I thought you were familiar.” She hit her boyfriend’s chest. “George, this is Captain Christopher Ortiz! He’s famous on Instagram! I’ve never met an astronaut before.” She smiled flirtatiously at me.