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)
And it’s what I need. What I’ve always needed and didn’t know it.
“I love you too,” I echo.
Drops of perspiration bead on his forehead. One drips onto my cheek. His gaze never leaves mine. It’s hot, intense, raw.
He thrusts, thrusts, thrusts, and when the spasms begin in my pussy and radiate through me, he plunges in so far that I’m sure he’s touching my heart.
We release together.
And we lie there.
Until Brett finally breaks the silence.
“I suppose we could have a double wedding with Alex and Ariel.”
“A wedding?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re going to marry me, aren’t you?”
I grab a pillow from the couch and bop him upside the head with it. “Is that your idea of a proposal?”
“I’ll propose however you want me to, Sienna. Just say you’ll be with me forever. Please.”
I lean over and brush my lips against his. “There’s no other place I’d rather be.”
EPISODE 181
NOT READY FOR TODAY
Emily
After tossing and turning all night, I rise and dress in a blue mini sundress.
What have I done?
Will River forgive me for sleeping with Sebastian? And will Sebastian forgive me for leading him on?
I’ve made a bloody mess out of everything.
Staying holed up in my suite is tempting, but I can’t. River returns today, but I have no idea when.
Was it a mistake to confess my love for him?
I can’t bring myself to feel sorry about it, but I do feel some embarrassment. Clearly he doesn’t return my feelings. If he did, he would have said so.
I walk down to the kitchen. Since I didn’t sleep, I need caffeine more than ever. Though I prefer a hearty breakfast tea in the mornings, today coffee is calling.
“Coffee, Ms. Kensington?” a kitchen staffer asks.
“Yes, please. Black.”
She hands me a steaming mug and then turns back to her work. I walk out onto the deck where a breakfast buffet is set up.
Misty and Evangeline are sitting together at a table. Do I dare join them and interrupt what is most likely more plotting on Misty’s part?
Before I decide, however, Misty waves me over.
“Where is everyone else?” I ask as I take a seat.
“Sebastian is up,” Evangeline says. “He said he was going for a walk on the beach. I haven’t seen anyone else yet.”
I simply nod. Misty is eating mango slices and sipping orange juice. Or it could be a screwdriver, for all I know. With Misty, anything is possible.
“How was your date with him?” Evangeline asks.
I jerk toward her voice. “Sorry. What?”
“Your evening with Sebastian,” she says. “Did you find him to be acting a little strange?”
“Not overly,” I say.
It’s a lie, of course. When he talked about the fifth friend who died, he was as tormented as I’ve ever seen anyone. Does Evangeline know about the fifth friend? Does Misty? Though the evening with Sebastian didn’t end well—though the fuck was lovely—I don’t feel comfortable talking to these two about my conversation with him.
“Why do you ask?” I continue.
Evangeline takes a sip of coffee. “Because he... Oh, never mind. He just seemed out of it, I suppose. And this morning he didn’t talk much. Just said he was going out to the beach.”
“I see.” I turn to Misty. “Did he seem strange to you?”
“I’ve hardly spent any time with him.” She sips her OJ. “How would I know?”
How, indeed?
My feelings about Misty are ambivalent. On the one hand, I feel desperately sorry for her. She clearly didn’t get the parental affection she deserved. On the other hand, though, she also wanted me to help her sabotage the others during the cook-off so she could get a date with River.
And then she chose Brett.
What is her game?
Evangeline sighs. “I should apologize to you both. And especially to the men. They’re paying for all of this, and it seems nothing has gone right.” She turns to me. “I haven’t forgotten about the lunch dates for you and Ariel after you won the game on the catamaran.”
“Oh, Lordy,” I groan. “I had forgotten.”
“Now that Ariel and Alex are an item, she won’t want her date, but you can still have yours with Brett.”
Misty bursts into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I demand.
“Oh, Emily, please,” she says. “You have about as much interest in Brett as you do in me.”
She’s not wrong. I chose Brett because Ariel chose Sebastian, and at that time, he was the one I was after. I hadn’t even noticed River at that point.
Dear God, River...
Just the thought of him makes my body ache with need. What will I do if he doesn’t love me?
“I made the date, and I’ll see it through,” I say. “If Brett is amenable.”
“You could have the date tomorrow,” Evangeline says. “Today the new physician is arriving, and River is returning. At least I hope he returns.”
“You mean he may not?” I nearly gasp but manage to keep some of the surprise out of my voice.