Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 291(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Thanks.” She managed a smile and he laughed, the sound low and pleasurable. “You know, things between Jeremy and I were good in the beginning… but the flame burned out.”
At the mention of her romantic past, Dex clenched his jaw. Or maybe she was imagining it. Or maybe his small reaction had nothing to do with her and Jeremy together at all. Just because she sat here spilling her guts, all the while too aware of the man across from her—one she’d once shared a scorching-hot, toe-curling kiss with—didn’t mean he felt the same.
“Anyway, the thing is, I’m embarrassed, angry, and… relieved. I shouldn’t be relieved he gave me an out… right?”
“You shouldn’t be embarrassed, he should. But to answer your question, no, you should not be relieved. Unless… you aren’t in love with him?” He phrased it as a question and leaned forward, watching her with interest.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Was it her imagination or did his eyes darken? One thing she wasn’t imagining was her desire for Dex Sterling and it couldn’t come at a worse time. She needed to process why she’d been taken in by Jeremy, why she’d ignored her anxiety and many other warning signs and continued with the engagement and wedding… and why she was so focused on Dex and not the man who’d humiliated her moments before walking down the aisle.
But she didn’t have time to dwell on any of that, since the pilot announced they were preparing to land. She welcomed the brief reprieve from her confusing thoughts about her ex, and most especially about Dex.
She’d have plenty of time to think about everything while hiding away on the island.
Chapter Four
Dex woke to the sun shining through his bedroom window and it took a few minutes for him to place where he was. He’d heard about Asher Dare’s estate in the Bahamas from Ian and now he was experiencing it firsthand.
Last night, after the private plane had landed, a guy named Corey picked them up from the airport and drove them to the house which had been well-lit for their arrival. The housekeeper was waiting for them and she greeted Samantha with a warm hug and before he knew it, they’d both been offered a bowl of ice cream. Sensing Samantha needed alone time, he’d declined and allowed Corey to lead him to the bedroom where he’d be staying, and he crashed hard.
He braced a hand behind his head and thought back to the conversation he’d had with Samantha on the plane. How sad she’d looked when describing how she’d fallen into a relationship with the bastard who’d set her up and used her for her money. Dex knew a little about that, always being careful not to give the wrong signals to any woman he’d been with. But Samantha was more trusting and Jeremy, the asshole, had taken advantage of her trust.
Dex hoped Ian took care of her SOB ex because if not, Dex wouldn’t mind stepping up to protect her. He blinked hard, aware of how out of character that thought had been for any woman who wasn’t his sister. He was a lot of things, a playboy being one of them, or so Fallon liked to tell him, but he wasn’t someone to take advantage of a hurting woman on the rebound. No matter how attracted he was to her.
Even on the plane, with her eyes red-rimmed from crying, her face makeup-free, and her adorable freckles showing, Samantha had been beautiful. Enough for him to decide to go to sleep instead of sharing ice cream in the kitchen and exchanging more confidences. It didn’t help that as he’d turned in for the night, a sobering thought had hit him hard.
Samantha Dare just might be the one that got away.
The harsh ringing of his cell and the sight of Ian Dare’s name on the screen jerked him back to reality.
Resigned, he answered the phone. “Morning, Ian.”
“Are you ready to tell me what the hell you’re doing with my sister?” his former team owner and now friend asked.
Dex rolled his eyes but at the same time, he understood. “I’m taking care of her.” He’d already relayed the story of how he’d come across her outside the hotel, omitting the part about almost running her over, when he spoke to Ian yesterday on the plane. But he hadn’t given him much else, instead putting him off until now. But he did owe him an explanation. “Something I’d hope you’d do for my sister if the situation were reversed.” It never hurt to remind the other man when he was being a pompous jerk. Problem was, Ian liked his reputation as a hardass.
“You know I would take care of your family.” Ian paused. “But I want to kill that asshole. I never liked Jeremy Rollins and I told Samantha as much.”