Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” I said, smiling as I took a cautious drink of my tea. I was more of a coffee kind of girl, but when I saw the resort offered “traditional tea breakfasts,” it sounded like the perfect little checkpoint to spend some time with my sister. I knew the whole process was going to be a busy mess, and figured it would be wise to make sure I scheduled some time with her.
Now, I was honestly wishing I hadn’t.
I felt like the whole room could look at me and tell I’d just had the kind of sex that ruined women on other men—that just last night, I’d ridden James Carter’s fingers, lips, and tongue to heights of pleasure that I’d never seen before.
Sure, we did technically stick to our no penetration rule. Although his fingers definitely penetrated me. And, well, I suppose I let him penetrate my mouth. But hey, we were trying our best!
And now I imagined the dirty deeds I’d done were practically flashing over my head in neon letters.
Girl who just orgasmed like six times in less than an hour! Look here! Stare at her!
I spent extra long in the bathroom, just looking at myself from various angles to make sure none of my internal chaos was visible on my face. In the end, I was convinced I still looked like regular, boring, Emma Marshall.
James left the room early for “exercise,” but something in his body language made me think he was going to find a way to keep investigating Marcus while he was out. The idea filled me with a whole different flavor of dread. Each time I suspected he went out to investigate, I couldn’t help imagining him uncovering some dirty, disastrous secret that would blow this otherwise perfect wedding to shreds.
But I was here. I needed to make sure I was enjoying the time with Lily.
“How is the room?” I asked.
“Huh?” Lily asked.
“You and Marcus. Are you, um, liking your room?”
God, Emma. Stop being so awkward.
“Oh, it’s great,” Lily said. “Did you know the bathtub fills itself from the ceiling? Like this massive stream of water just… dumps straight out of a little hole in the ceiling and lands in the tub. Very dramatic.”
I grinned. “That’s cool. Before I had to surrender my room to ‘Aunt Martha,’ I had heated towels and robes in mine.”
“I still can’t believe Marcus’ dad made you give up your room. Do you want me to talk to him about it? Maybe we could work something out.”
“No, no,” I said, a little too fast. “James’ room is fine. And I’m the wedding planner. I’m not here for pleasure. Or… fun,” I said. Was I talking too fast, or was I just imagining that? “Sharing a room with James is completely fine. I don’t mind it. I like it, actually. He’s my boyfriend, right?” I paused awkwardly, eyes bulging slightly as I gulped the tea.
“Are you okay, Em?” Lily asked, voice soft.
“I’m great. I just want to make sure everything goes perfectly for my little sister. You’re only supposed to do this once, so it should be everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”
“I know it’ll be perfect. It’s why I trusted you with it,” she reached across the table to squeeze my hand and smile.
I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t help the sinking ball of ice in my stomach.
She was trusting me, and yet I knew the freaking wedding wrecker was snooping around the resort every day, inching closer to some disastrous truth that might lead to him destroying everything.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lily asked. “You look like you might be sick.”
I laughed awkwardly. “It’s the tea. I liked the idea too much to let my dislike of tea stop me. But I need to stop drinking this stuff.”
Lily smiled, showing no hint of suspicion about my weird behavior. And why should she? I had always been a little bit of a walking ball of stress. She would’ve probably been worried if I didn’t seem like I was losing my shit, just a little bit.
"Well," Lily continued, setting down her cup with a devious smile, "you've got other things to smile about. Like that hickey you're trying to hide with your scarf."
I clapped a hand to my neck, face burning. "I'm not—"
"Please. I've never seen you wear a scarf indoors in your life." She grinned. "James seems... intense. I think I like him for you."
“Um, yeah,” I said. “Intense is a good word.”
“So, what made you go for a guy like that? I mean, other than the obvious.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your usual type is more… meek. You’ve always got this kind of boss bitch vibe, and it seems like you’ve always gravitated toward guys who stay out of your way. Guys who won’t challenge you or put up a fight if you blow past them.”