Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Reid’s expression falls. “I just need to handle one thing.”
I was starting to worry about what thing needs handling. Do they have designer emergencies? Does he need to pick up his book of swatches and fly across the country like a superhero because some rich chick needs a bathroom redo at one in the morning? “It’s okay. I’ll see you when we get back to the States.”
“Harper,” he begins.
I’m not sure what to say to him. Without his hands on me, all of my doubts start to creep back in. We do have to work together. We spark off each other, and that’s not always a good thing. This is Ani’s big project, and I don’t want my libido to screw it up. I straighten my dress and wish he hadn’t taken my hair down. I probably look like we got much further than we did. “It’s only a week or so and we’ll start filming.”
“Or I could come to your room when I’m done,” he offers.
But there’s something about Jeremiah’s expression. He won’t quite look me in the eyes. “I’m so tired. I swear I’ll be asleep in no time. Also, I’m sharing with Ivy and Heath, and they would never let me hear the end of it.”
He sighs. “Okay, but I’ll call you. And we have an initial design meeting in a week. I’d like to see you before then.”
I give him my brightest smile. If he does call, maybe we can try it again. Maybe this is some weird family thing. Maybe he’ll tell me what happened and I’ll laugh and we can move on. “Call me. I had a good time.”
“I did, too.” There’s a wistful expression on his face.
And a somewhat sympathetic look on Jeremiah’s as he waves my way.
I’m halfway out the door when I hear them talking.
“What do you mean she’s…”
The door closes, and I’m alone in the hallway.
So it is a she. Well, everyone told me he was something of a playboy. My heart hurts a little. Maybe I don’t understand the situation. I walk down the hall. The party is still going on below us. I could go down and talk to Ivy, but the last thing I want is to be the girl crying in the bathroom at the homecoming dance. That had actually been Anika, but I’m not looking to pay her back or anything. It wasn’t like I’d had anything better to do junior year.
“Either he was faster than all reports would have him be or his brother cockblocked you,” a feminine voice says. I turn and Sonja, the sexually aggressive royal, is standing at the top of the staircase, a glass of champagne in her hands. Her brow cocks as she looks me over. “Which one?”
“Lady, it’s none of your business.”
Sonja sighs. “It’s everyone’s business if you get involved with that one. Haven’t you figured it out? He’s American royalty. You people don’t value history, but you do love money. It’s the only real god in American society. His family is old-school money, and that means everyone wants something from him.”
I should walk on. “You sure did.”
She shrugs. “I’m bored and my husband is fucking some twenty-year-old. He looked like a good distraction, but then she showed up and I remembered why I stay away from that train wreck.”
“She?”
Sonja frowns. “Are you really so out of the loop?”
“Yes.”
A huff comes from the woman’s mouth. “Her name is Britta Olensoff. She’s a model. I think the term is supermodel.”
Nothing rings a bell, and I’m suddenly grateful I don’t follow celebrity news. “I’m not big into fashion.”
She looks me up and down. “Yes, I can see that.”
I’m about to walk off and hide in my room when a gloriously tall woman begins her ascent up the stairs. She’s stunning. A Nordic goddess of a woman, and she does not have my problems with fashion. She’s in a sheath dress that shows off her slender figure, and her icy blond hair is swept back in a perfect ponytail that sways as she walks in impossibly high heels. She’s followed by two men in suits. Bodyguards.
“Britta,” Sonja says with obvious disdain. “I suppose I know where you’re going. He kicked this one out when he found out you were here.”
Shit. I feel my whole body flush as I realize what happened. Well, it wasn’t like I asked if he had a girlfriend. I would think he might mention it, but I also hadn’t questioned him and neither had he.
The supermodel stares down at me as though contemplating a bug she’s thinking about squishing. “Well, I shouldn’t be so surprised. We fought when I couldn’t come with him. This is how he gets his petty revenge. I’m sorry, miss. He likely didn’t mention he has a fiancée.”
I feel my jaw threaten to drop. And my heart clench. It isn’t like I thought we had a future or anything, but he…he isn’t who I thought he was. His brother isn’t either since he’s covering for Reid. I’m not going to cry. At least not until I make it to my room. “We work together. That’s all. I’m managing the crew on his latest renovation project.”