Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I was wearing the orange dress he bought me in Positano, along with the yellow sapphire earrings — they’d shown back up on top of mine and Joel’s dresser, and I figured one of the stewardesses found them when they were cleaning. I had also braided my hair over one shoulder, leaving my neck exposed.
When Theo saw me, it was the first time all week that I saw his bravado falter, his eyes dipping down to my chest, to the slit where my leg peeked through each time I walked.
“I grew up on fish and chips,” he said. “My mom’s favorite when she was little. Dad hates the dish,” he added with a laugh. “But he’s a smart man and knows making Mum happy is what matters most.”
“Mum,” I repeated with a chuckle.
“Yes, mum,” he said, tossing a French fry across the table at me.
I batted it away on another laugh. “Your English heritage sneaks up on you every now and then, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, you should hear me when I’m watching a game of football.” He held up his finger, swallowing his next bite before he added. “Not American football, but the real thing.” Theo shook his head. “I get an accent and everything. Completely absurd.”
He said the last two words with a terrible English accent that had me bending over in a fit of laughter, and when it settled, I took a sip of water while Theo watched me across the candlelit table.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have this air about you?” I asked.
“How so?”
I shrugged. “You just… you have this sort of… power that radiates off you. Confidence. Swagger. Like a king.”
“A king, huh?” Theo said, kicking back in his chair and crossing his ankle over the opposite knee. “I kind of like that image.”
“I thought that the first time I saw you,” I said.
“Oh, when you took a picture of me before even introducing yourself?”
I flushed. “I couldn’t help it, okay?” I gestured to him, waving my hand up toward his hair and then down to his Italian leather dress shoes. “I mean, look at you.”
“I can’t,” Theo said, his eyes glimmering. “I’m too busy looking at you.”
My cheeks burned even more, and I looked down at my finger tracing the rim of my water glass, speechless.
“Come,” Theo said, standing and folding his napkin in half before he abandoned it on the table. “I wanted to wait until after dessert, but patience has never been a virtue of mine, and I’d like to show you something.”
“Should we clean up first?” I asked, gesturing to the table.
“Wayland will handle it.”
I frowned at the mess we left behind, mostly because I didn’t realize we weren’t alone. It made sense, of course. I imagined Captain Chuck was onboard, too. You couldn’t just leave a giant mega yacht unmanned.
Still, I wondered what the captain and first mate thought of me staying behind and having dinner with the owner instead of going to shore with my boyfriend…
The thought slipped away as Theo took my hand, though, and I followed him through the cool night air up the stairs. I waited for him to take me to the next set of stairs that would lead to the sun deck, but instead, he steered me around the corner.
Toward the owner’s suite.
Theo smirked at me over his shoulder. “Thought you might like to see where the king rests his head at night.”
He opened the door, and when we stepped inside, I lost my breath.
The owner’s suite was four times the size of the room I shared with Joel, and it was grand opulence embodied. Soft, warm light outlined the edges of the ceiling and the baseboards, playing with the different shades of wood and marble that danced in tandem throughout the room. Luxurious gold and navy curtains framed the floor-to-ceiling windows, which looked out over the glittering shoreline and dark water. Cream push-pin couches trimmed with gold made up a sitting area in the center of the room, along with a stocked bar and record player, all underlined by a lush navy, cream, and gold Persian rug.
Theo walked over to select a record from the metallic, geometric bookshelf while I continued taking in the room. Its art deco style surprised me because it was so different from the rest of the boat and yet it fit so perfectly.
And it suited him.
I didn’t know what I imagined his room would look like — perhaps because I assumed it would be a mixture of the elements that dusted the rest of the yacht. I expected the teak, and the warm wood, and the low light and grandeur. But I hadn’t expected to find the pops of color, the mixed metals, the old Hollywood movie posters that hung in gold frames on the far wall.
And directly across from the windows was the king’s bed.