Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
After a long moment, she looks away, her lips pressed into a thin line, clearly unsure what to say. I don’t offer her any words, I don’t gloat, and I don’t revel beyond what’s necessary. The message is clear; I’m here. I’m serious. I’m not someone who’s going to step aside. I’m playing my part in our deal, but it feels like more than that. I hate to admit it, but it actually feels almost like I am protecting what is mine.
“So,” Vanessa says, her tone casual, but her eyes full of wicked glee. “If you got engaged, where’s the ring?”
She’s got me there. Rhett isn’t exactly someone who couldn’t afford a ring, and I flounder, wondering what the hell I am going to say now. I can’t back track – that would be too tragic, but she’s really got me here.
“It’s umm …”
Chapter Thirty
Rhett
The sun is high and warm, the kind of heat that makes the sand stick pleasantly to my feet, and the ocean glint like melted glass in the distance. I’m carrying a can of soda in each hand, one for me, and one for Vanessa,
I am now close enough that I can hear Pippa and Vanessa and catch the tail end of Pippa’s sentence, clipped and sharp.
“You think he’s coming back to you? Well, he’s not. He won’t. Because we just got engaged.”
I can’t help but grin to myself. Pippa just took our charade to the next level. For a moment, Vanessa is quiet, and then she snaps back at Pippa.
“So, if you got engaged, then where’s the ring?”
I adjust my grip on the soda cans, feeling the condensation cool against my palms while I wait for Pippa’s answer, but she is stumped. Frozen without a comeback.
I can see her sitting upright on her towel, her shoulders squared despite the slight flush on her cheeks. Vanessa is looming just a little bit too close to her, her smirk firmly in place, and her hands planted on her hips like she owns the beach.
I take the last couple of steps and arrive at their side. I hold a can of soda out to Vanessa.
“Here you go,” I say.
Vanessa smiles and accepts it, her perfectly manicured fingernails curling around the can. “Thanks.”
“Pippa isn’t wearing her ring because it’s not here yet, but she looked so adorable in bed this morning, I couldn’t let the moment go. It just felt right, so I proposed … without a ring.”
For a second, Pippa looks shocked, but she hides the look quickly, obviously realizing I overheard at least part of the conversation. Vanessa on the other hand, doesn’t recover quite as quickly. She snorts soda out of her nose and takes a minute to fish a tissue out of her designer beach bag and mop at her face.
“Are you being serious right now?” she demands.
“Deadly,” I say.
Her haughty expression slips for a second, and she frowns slightly. “You’ve only known her for five minutes, Rhett. Is this a good idea?”
It’s not the reaction I expected, and I can see from Pippa’s expression that she is confused by the fact that Vanessa seems to be genuinely concerned about me rather than being catty.
“Five minutes, five years, love is love. What can you do?”
Vanessa straightens up and the softness leaves her face. Her catty expression returns, and her lips press into a thin line. She offers a clipped smile.
“Well then, congratulations, I guess.”
“Thanks,” I say neutrally.
She glances at Pippa again, clearly still unsure how to handle this new reality. “I’ll … I’ll let you two enjoy your day.
She pivots sharply, her designer sunglasses reflecting the sun, and strides off down the beach before she disappears entirely from view.
I exhale, and I turn to Pippa. She’s still seated on her towel, her expression a mixture of relief and disbelief. I sit back down beside her.
“I leave you alone for two minutes, and now I have to marry you?” I mock.
She laughs, a little breathless, shaking her head. “I feel like I just set off a bomb.”
“You did,” I say, letting the corner of my mouth twitch. “But a good one. And now she knows that you’re serious. That we’re serious. That she can’t just waltz in and think she still has some rights over me.”
Pippa leans against me slightly, and I feel the warmth of her shoulder against my arm.
“So … I did well?” she asks with a soft laugh, though the faint flush on her cheeks betrays the adrenaline still coursing through her.
I brush a strand of hair back from her face, holding her gaze. “You handled it like a pro.”
The waves lap gently at the shore in the distance. The tension has eased, replaced by a shared sense of victory and intimacy. I feel a lightness in my chest, the kind that comes from defending something, someone, that matters more than you realized.