Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“What? This has nothing to do with you.”
Stepping forward, Oliver trails a finger across my exposed collarbone. He tips his head to the side. “You’re fucking my brother just weeks after you called me out of the blue, but I’m supposed to think this has nothing to do with me? That I’ll throw myself at your feet to keep you from dressing like”—his eyes blaze as he scrapes his gaze over me again—“like this for Alec?”
Whore.
The word he didn’t say howls through my head like a siren. His father thought I was a whore, and Oliver defended me. But then the truth came out, and any reasonable person could see I’d been fooling myself by believing I was anything more to Oliver than a means to an end. Love will do that do you.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
So why does my heart ache so much at the sight of those haunting eyes? And why did I make that drunken phone call just days after meeting Alec? Oliver didn’t answer. I left a message. That night is pretty fuzzy, but I think I told him I didn’t ever want to see him again and that I was moving on—though the fact that I’d made the call at all after all these years begs to differ.
“My relationship with Alec has nothing to do with you. If I had known that—”
“You are fucking him.” His mouth curls in a sneer. “Hell, Savvy, if you were that hard up, you should’ve just said so in your message. You know I’m always here to take care of your needs.”
Take care of me. Not love me. Not be with me. Fuck me. Get me off.
But my traitorous body thinks letting him take care of those needs is a great idea. The part of me that remembers just how good it was between us practically purrs at the possibility of going there again. Not that I would—not as long as I have a shred of dignity left in my body.
Oliver slides his cell from his pocket. “I’ll drop my brother a text and let him know you’re here.”
“Don’t,” I blurt.
He cocks a brow. “Don’t text the guy you flew across the country to see?”
I give a shaky nod. “Just forget it. Forget you saw me.”
Whatever Alec and I had, whatever that single night in Vegas started between us, it ended the second Oliver opened that door.
Part One
PRESENT DAY
Two and a half years later
CHAPTER ONE
SAVVY
I’m late.
I hate being late. But the news I got this morning has left me off my game all day.
I slam my car door shut and jog across the street to Smithy’s bar, where I’m meeting my friends.
“Savvy!” someone calls before I reach the door.
I turn and see the bar’s owner, Smithy, coming up the sidewalk, hands tucked in pockets. “Hey, bud,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Just running in to check on the new bartender. What about you? How’s my beautiful future wife?”
I roll my eyes and smile. “Not much. How’s my future ex-husband?”
He chuckles, low and raspy, like he’s laughed so much his vocal cords have worn out from it. “You know it, hot stuff. You and me would be like an explosion—short, but so hot and so worth it.”
“No doubt.” I grin and nod toward the bar, where I already know Abbi, Brinley, and Stella are waiting for me. “I’d better head in. I’m meeting the girls.”
“For real?” He presses his palm to his chest. “Are you telling me my girls are reuniting after . . . what? A decade apart?”
“A slight exaggeration,” I say.
“Barely.”
I know what he means. It sure feels like forever since we’ve all been able to get together. I can’t even blame the girls all having men in their lives now. My schedule is just as crazy. There comes a point in your life where you either need to make your peace with the status quo or start to hustle for something bigger. I’ve been hustling.
Smithy pulls the door open and gestures for me to head in. “After you, beautiful.”
I wink at him, adjust my purse on my shoulder, and head to a booth at the back of the bar where the girls are already sipping their drinks.
“She’s here!” Brinley crows, putting down her glass and clapping her hands. She slides out of the booth and wraps me into a big hug, as if we didn’t just see each other at work this morning.
I squeeze her back. “Good to see you outside the office for once,” I say, pulling away.
“I know. I’ve been working too much, but I was just telling the girls that I’m restructuring at The Orchid so I can slow down a little.”
“Well, good for you!”
“It’s about time, right?” Abbi says.
I nod. “For sure.”
We take our spots in the booth across from Abbi and Stella, and Stella leans across the table and narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you late, bitch?”