Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
She kind of wished Kala hadn’t destroyed all those spray bottles.
Kenzie walked into the dressing room and saw who she was talking to.
Both whos. Sophy Weston and Vivian McKay were seated at adjoining mirrors. Sophy was straightening her dark hair while Vivi finished polishing her makeup.
“I am happy with my pervertedness,” Sophy explained with a shrug. “Though it does make my dad go green, and he doesn’t do that often. You would think the amount of times the poor man’s had to clean me up that he wouldn’t care anymore, but no, the sight of me in a corset makes him ill.”
“I’m not a pervert.” Vivi put a hand to her chest like she was delicate and might faint. “I’m hurt.”
She was not. Vivi was kind of a badass. She’d been in England for the last couple of years going to grad school where she was following in her mother’s footsteps and studying psychology. She worked at McKay-Taggart and Knight part time and shared a flat with Kenzie’s cousin Sophy.
Who looked…healthy, and that felt like a miracle.
“Don’t listen to her, Sosa.” Kala walked in behind Kenzie. “She’s a happy pervert. You’ve got a terrible relationship with sex because of the whole ‘kidnapped as a child and forced to grow up in a brothel’ thing. It’s fine. You’ll find the right dick and it will be miraculous.”
Vivi’s jaw dropped. “Kala. Seriously?”
Kala looked to their cousin with a shrug like she didn’t see the problem. “Or pussy. I’ve heard pussies can be magical, too. Honestly, or a vibe. Lou used to cuddle with hers when the nights got lonely, but then she got together with TJ and now they’re happy. But TJ does still cuddle a hot dog. He gets hungry at night. It’s weird.”
“Kala, new friends.” Kenz wasn’t sure they were friends at all.
But then she also wasn’t certain Ben Parker wasn’t playing her for all she was worth.
It hadn’t felt that way. The afternoon had been lovely. He’d taken her straight to bed, but he hadn’t stripped her and spread her wide for himself. He’d cuddled her and asked her about her family. He’d listened to her stories until she’d fallen asleep, and he’d still been holding her when he’d woken her and told her it was time for dinner.
He’d sat beside her as they’d talked with Cooper and Kala and Lou and TJ. Oliver had kept his distance, sitting with Lucy and Sami and Tim.
It felt good to sit there with a Ben who paid attention to her, who was polite to her family and seemed to want to be there.
Of course, she’d told him exactly how to play her.
Sosa shrugged and found one of the comfy seats. “She is not wrong. She is very smart Bratz doll. I don’t know about other one.”
“I swear if you call me a Bratz doll one more time, I’m going to show you that I held back with your friend yesterday,” Kenzie snarled. “I know my mother is being nice to you and I want to be nice as well, but I can be mean.”
Kala snorted and sank down in front of one of the free mirrors. “She can be. She’s one of those lovely souls who is sweet as pie until she’s done and then she will throw down, and she does not mind pulling out large portions of hair. If you aren’t attached to it or you’ve been wanting to try something different, try her, man.”
Sosa looked her up and down as though assessing. “Fine. But just because I do not say thing does not mean it isn’t true.”
“And just because I let you live doesn’t mean I like you,” Kenzie returned. And then immediately felt guilty, but she wasn’t taking it back. She turned to her cousin. She’d seen Vivi earlier. Vivian had been waiting to greet them when they’d gotten to the building, but Sophy didn’t work here. She only came in for club nights. “Soph, it’s so good to see you. I am not going to ask the question.”
The question Sophy had been asked since she was thirteen years old and diagnosed with cancer.
Her cousin gave her a brilliant smile. “I’m fine. All my checkups are good. Still in complete remission.”
Her port scar had faded, but the evidence would always be with her in that thin line on her chest. Kenzie hugged her tight and tried not to get emotional. Cancer ran in Uncle Simon’s family line, and though Sophy had come through it like a champ, it still almost wrecked them all.
Kenzie took a step back and smiled brightly. “I’m glad to hear it. How is your uncle doing?”
“The duke is quite well, thank you for asking,” she replied. “Don’t I sound like a proper British aristocrat? Uncle Clive’s been giving me lessons. We’re handling a bunch of renovations out at Norsely right now, so I’m in full-on Downton Abbey mode. Except we don’t have all the servants and stuff because my uncle’s on the solitary side.”