Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
The door opens and I know before I glance over that it’s her. My vision tunnels until Sophia is all I see. She shifts slightly in her tight black dress. Her collarbones are visible above the fabric and my fingertips heat with the need to press against them, up her neck, over her lips. Her blonde hair is up, with wavy tendrils framing her face, her lips a soft pink. Need coils in my gut.
What’s wrong with me?
What’s with this woman?
It’s like I’ve taken some kind of drug and my thoughts are no longer my own. I’m possessed. I have this unshakeable feeling I’m meant to be with her. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve thought about her way too much these last two weeks, even dreamt about her a couple of times, but I feel like I know her. Like she knows me.
But it’s all in my head.
Our gazes catch and her expression turns from anxious to happy. She steps toward me, places her hand on my shoulder, and without thinking, I place mine on her waist as we greet each other with a kiss on the cheek.
“Worth,” she says in my ear. Desire spreads through my veins. “You’re here.”
Suddenly I wish I hadn’t arranged the seating the way I did. I want her next to me. All night. All the time.
“You thought I wasn’t coming?” I like the fact she noticed I wasn’t on the plane. We’re a small group, so it’s not like my absence wasn’t obvious, but it still has me hoping that she’s thinking about me in the way I’m thinking about her.
Except I shouldn’t be hoping.
She’s meant for Fisher. Even if he’s not interested in her, she might have her sights set on him.
Her hand leaves my shoulder and reluctantly I pull my fingers from her waist.
She smiles up at me. “You weren’t on the plane.”
“I had a call,” I lie. “So I flew commercial. But I wasn’t going to miss this.”
She looks up at me, her head tilted, her gaze so intense I feel it in my bones. She doesn’t say a word. I’d pay a million bucks to know what she’s thinking.
“Let’s sit,” Fisher calls out, and the moment is broken.
Everyone heads to the table. I sit where I planned to. Sophia’s at the other end of the table, directly in my line of sight. Despite the distance between us, I still feel her in every cell of my body.
“What’s this?” Jules asks, holding up the navy velvet box.
There’s a bit of mumbling as Efa and Sophia discover their boxes. They didn’t act as the placeholders I’d hoped, but Sophia is still at the opposite end of the table from me. Not that it’s tempered my distraction.
“Just a small memento of the weekend,” I say.
“Worth!” Jules says, opening the box.
I glance down at my plate, but it takes everything I have not to stare at Sophia as she opens her box. Does she like it? Will she wear it? All I could see when I came across the necklace was Sophia—the blue of the sapphire a perfect match for her eyes.
“Oh god, Worth. It’s gorgeous,” Efa says. “Thank you.”
Jack groans. “Typical Worth, showing the rest of us up buying gifts.”
“I’m sure no one will mind if you buy more gifts for tomorrow,” I say.
I finally glance over at Sophia. She’s staring right at me. But she’s frowning. Is she angry? Without breaking eye contact, she stands and rounds the table toward me, holding the jewelry box.
Without thinking, I stand as she approaches. Her hand slide over my shoulder again and I pull in a breath, enjoying the heat of her palm She lifts up on tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. I close my eyes in a long blink. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It’s so generous of you.”
I’m left speechless. I can’t move. She’s so close, I breathe in her scent of jasmine and honey. I feel the heat of her body under that black dress. I desperately want to pull her closer still and tell her how I feel—how I am completely bewitched by her.
She steps back. “Will you help me put it on?” She hands me the box and spins so her back is to me.
I feel myself lengthen. The things I want to do to this woman.
I’m vaguely aware that despite the fact we’re the only two people in the group standing, no one’s paying attention to either of us. That’s how I like it. I don’t need additional scrutiny at this moment. I take the necklace from its box.
“You shouldn’t feel you have to wear this now. I—”
“I want to,” Sophia says, silencing me. There’s no doubt in her words.
I’m careful not to touch her as I drape the necklace around her neck and do up the clasp.