Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Why not? You said recently that you missed sex.”
“I do, but that man is gorgeous and cocky. That spells trouble.”
“Are you still texting with Simon? The dentist you went out with in college?”
I nodded. “He’s away on the mission trip he took. But I think we’re going to get together next time he’s back. Maybe he can help me with my dry spell. We had pretty good chemistry back in the day.”
Lily smiled. “You’ll break your dry spell when you’re ready.”
“I hope I still remember how to do it by then. It’s been so long.”
Lily laughed. “It’s like riding a bike, or maybe a horse.”
I thought back to the way Dawson looked naked. That would be some horse to ride. Still, my gut told me he would be a bad idea. A fun one probably, but still a bad idea. “I think I’m going to look for a pony this time, rather than a stallion.”
***
Speaking of men hung like horses…
Dawson was talking to another groomsman as I approached my seat. But his eyes latched onto me and didn’t let go. Every step I took left me feeling warmer under his gaze.
“Are you here?” He pointed to the chair next to him.
“I am.”
“Excuse me.” Dawson abandoned the conversation with the guy he’d been talking to and stood, pulling out my chair.
“Thank you.”
He sat and stretched his arm along the back of my chair, nodding to the table. “The menu with the dinner choices is there. They’re coming around to take orders now. There’s an eggplant dish. Ben mentioned you’re vegan.”
I lifted a brow. “Do you speak about me often?”
“I mentioned you since I had to explain the black eye I had when I showed up at his door this morning.”
I smiled. “Can you believe that was only this morning? It seems more like three days ago.”
“I feel the same way.”
The rehearsal dinner was in a private room at a local restaurant. There were probably about twenty of us seated at one long table. It was pretty, but there wasn’t a lot of room, so we were tucked in almost shoulder to shoulder. This close, I couldn’t help but notice how handsome Dawson really was. His angular jaw, straight nose, and blue eyes were impossible to miss, even from a distance, but his skin was beautiful too—sun kissed and smooth. It made me wonder about his heritage and if he got facials. He also smelled really good.
I got lost in the moment, only to blink and realize Dawson had just watched me check him out.
He smirked. “I think you’re pretty hot, too.”
My jaw fell open. “Who said I think you’re hot?”
“You just did. With your eyes.”
“I was looking at your black eye. And stupidly feeling bad about it again. Apparently, I shouldn’t.”
His smirk widened. “Uh-huh.”
“You’re pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Just being real.”
“Real full of yourself.”
“I don’t attract women because of my sparkling personality. I tend to be a dick.”
“Oh, at least we agree on something.”
He nodded. “That I’m handsome.”
“God, I was really on point when I told Lily you were cocky.”
He leaned back, and his already big smile grew smugger, if that were possible. “Talking about me to your friend. Nice.”
“For the same reason you were talking about me! I was telling her what happened.”
“I’d already told Lily what happened this morning.”
“We were discussing it.”
“You told her how good I looked naked then?”
My face heated. “No!”
“But you thought it?”
“I definitely understand why you don’t attract women with your sparkling personality.”
He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. I’ll admit I thought of you in those pink pajamas more than once today.”
Gah! I hated that I felt butterflies in my belly. But the huskiness in his voice was something else. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t have mattered what he said. The man could read the phone book, and I’d be turned on.
I was grateful a waiter walked over and interrupted the moment. He held up a bottle. “Would you like wine?”
“Definitely,” I said. “And a generous pour, please. I’m seated next to an egomaniac.”
I knocked back half the glass in one big gulp before Dawson even got his. When he lifted his wine to his mouth, I noticed he had a bracelet on his wrist, along with a sexy, chunky watch. I’d noticed the bracelet when he drove me to the hospital too, but it was the first time I realized it had letters.
“Is that a friendship bracelet? Are you a Swiftie?”
“Definitely not.”
“What does it say?”
He held it out for me to read. A-S-S-H-O-L-E. I laughed. “I’m pretty sure you don’t need that thing. People figure it out pretty quickly on their own.”
He smiled. “Ben mentioned you used to work in the DA’s office in Virginia.”
My face fell. “What else did he tell you?”
“Not much, other than you recently moved to New York. Are you thinking about working at the DA’s office with Lily?”