Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Well,” I begin, “I take my coffee with a splash of cream.”
He chuckles, the rumble going through my back and vibrating through my body.
“Why are you laughing? Does that surprise you?”
“Not at all.” He traces patterns on my bare arm. His touch is warm and gentle, like a whisper against my skin.
What did he ask about next? A book? My cheeks warm. I read mostly magazines, though I did pick up a short romance novel at a library sale recently. I’ve only read a couple chapters so far. Alex writes New York Times bestselling thrillers. His books have been made into movies. I can’t tell him what I usually read.
But I don’t want to make up something to impress this man. For the last several days, I’ve been trying to get comfortable with who I am. I’m Ariel. I’m me. I’m not sophisticated like Emily, fiery like Heather, or brilliant like Sienna.
I draw in a breath. “I’m reading a romance novel,” I say, feeling an odd mix of embarrassment and defiance. “It’s called Seduction in Silk.”
Silence for a moment. Then Alex laughs...and I want to bury my head in the sand.
“That’s adorable,” he says.
“Adorable?”
“Absolutely.”
I nod, a small smile playing on my lips. “It’s not as intellectual as what you write, but it’s fun and light, and sometimes that’s exactly what I need.”
“Ariel,” he says, his voice softening, “there’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading what you love. Never feel the need to explain or justify it.”
His words are simple, but they resonate in me, soothing a part of me that I didn’t even realize was hurting.
“Is there a song stuck in your head?” he asks.
I nestle farther into his chest. “Actually, there is. It comes and goes, but it started the first night. It’s that song from Dirty Dancing that we danced to. I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sienna. She moves like a firefly on a hot Alabama night. All those twists and turns, and the way she moved her hips. It was so sexy.”
Alex goes a little rigid against me. Did I say something wrong?
I move forward, turn a bit, and look into his eyes. “Did I get that one wrong?”
“There’s no right or wrong, Ariel. I was just thinking...”
“About?”
“Nothing.” He pulls me back against him.
And it hits me.
He went off with Sienna that first night.
“About that favorite color?” he says. “When you were a kid?”
“Pink,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
He chuckles softly. “Pink, huh? You don’t seem like the pink type.”
I shrug. “It’s a childhood thing, I guess. Mama used to dress me in pink all the time. She said it suited my hair.” I run a hand through my chestnut locks—though now they’re more auburn thanks to Evangeline’s stylists.
“And now? Still pink?” he asks.
“No. Teal. It’s different, peaceful.” Then I let out a laugh. “At least it was until that’s all Evangeline dressed me in since I got here.”
“Teal...” he murmurs. “You do look amazing in teal. Evangeline knows what she’s doing.”
“I suppose.”
“It’s one of my favorites too,” he says.
“It is?” Alex doesn’t seem the teal type. He’s more forest green and mahogany.
“Yeah. My mom used to have this old painting in our living room. It was a simple landscape—nothing fancy or expensive—but it always caught my eye. It was a ranch in Montana, and the sky was painted in shades of teal, and I remember thinking it looked like heaven.” He laughs. “Sounds silly, I know.”
“Not at all,” I say. “Did you live on a ranch?”
“No, only River did. The other four of us lived in town.”
“Oh, that’s...” I move forward and turn, facing him. “Wait a minute. Four of you?”
“Yeah. Riv, Seb, Brett, and me.”
“No. You said River lived on a ranch, but the other four of you lived in town.”
Alex drops his gaze. “I must have misspoken. Sorry. The three of us lived in town. Only River lived on a ranch.”
I stare at him. Wait for him to look back at me.
When he doesn’t...
“Alex? Are you okay?”
“I’m good.” He rises and brushes the sand off his trunks. “Let’s go back, Ariel.”
“Uh...okay.”
We walk out of the little cove along the beach until we come to the concrete pathway that leads back to the mansion. We put our shoes on, still in silence.
“Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“What happened? What did I do?”
“Nothing,” he says, this time a bit harshly. “Nothing, Ariel. I’m fine.”
EPISODE 148
RIVER’S SECRET
River
I walk to the closet, open the safe, and regard its contents.
My cell phone is in there, of course, along with a couple chargers, my credit cards, and a stash of hundreds. You never know when you’ll need cash, though on a private tropical island where I’m fronting a quarter of the bill, I probably won’t require it.
In the back is the fob of Old Man Larson’s pocket watch.
Not the watch itself.
I got rid of the watch long ago. I only took it as a token, a way to thumb my nose once more at Larson for what he tried to do to Ernie.