Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Since I wasn’t tired, I went for a walk along the beach, enjoying the fresh air, and on my way back up to my room, I spotted Lorenzo sitting at the bar and figured I should come over and say hi. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be up for a hookup tonight, and I can kick my virginity to the curb and lose my value.
“Always,” he says, taking a sip of his drink.
“Are you always so talkative, or is it just me?”
I quirk a brow, and he chuckles, the sound deep and masculine.
“It’s not you. It’s me,” he says, then grimaces when he realizes what he just said.
“Tell me how you really feel.” I wink playfully.
When the bartender comes over, I glance at the cocktail menu and order something I’ve never ordered before. “A screaming orgasm, please.”
Lorenzo glances at me and smirks.
“What?” I say, feigning innocence. “With all these couples, it’s the only way I’ll have one. Unless …” I trail off, and Lorenzo shakes his head.
“Hate to burst your bubble … or leave you unsatisfied … but I don’t do hookups.”
Well, shit. I definitely didn’t take that into consideration.
I swallow thickly and force out a laugh as the bartender sets my drink down.
I raise it and lock eyes with Lorenzo. “Then it looks like I’ll be pleasuring myself tonight.” I throw my drink back and get to figuring out a plan B.
“Oh, Bri,” Larisa, Bri’s mom, coos. “You look absolutely stunning.”
“Thank you.” Brielle smiles into the mirror, her hand covering her adorable bump.
She’s wearing a gorgeous, simple, off-the-shoulder wedding dress that stops at her knees and matching sandals that are stylish yet perfect for a beach wedding.
She turns around and looks at all the women surrounding her. “Thank you for coming today. This is everything I dreamed about,” she chokes out, “including the man I’m marrying … again.”
Everyone laughs, and Bri’s mom hands her a handkerchief to dab her eyes so she doesn’t mess up her makeup.
Once everyone is ready, we head out to the beautifully decorated pavilion to wait for the ceremony to begin. Since Lorenzo has an empty seat to the left of him, I have a seat next to him.
“Perfect day for a wedding, huh?”
He grunts, and I snort out a laugh.
“What?” he mutters.
“Nothing. You’re just so … grumpy.”
He side-eyes me, and I laugh again.
“See? Grumpy.”
“Leave the poor guy alone,” Matteo says with a smirk. “He’s not grumpy. He’s heartbroken. My sister is getting married for the second time, and this guy hasn’t even gotten married once.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Lorenzo hisses.
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one to catch the garter, and then it will be your turn next.” I grin at Lorenzo, whose scowl deepens.
“I have no desire to get married,” he grumbles.
“No desire to hook up,” I murmur so only he can hear. “No desire to get married. Is there anything you do desire?”
“Yeah, ending this conversation,” he says, his piercing blue eyes meeting mine.
I flinch at his harsh tone, and he sighs. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Thankfully, the wedding procession begins, and Dominick—Bri’s oldest brother—walks her down the makeshift aisle, effectively ending the awkward conversation and my hope of somehow convincing Lorenzo to let me give him my virginity.
As Bri and Kane exchange vows, they speak about their love for one another, and I can’t help but get choked up because this is what I want—to meet a man who will look at me the way Kane looks at Bri. Who will love me and protect me—not because I need him to, but because he wants to. And in return, I would love and protect him right back.
My eyes peer over at Lorenzo, who’s barely watching the service, paying more attention to his phone than the couple promising to spend their lives loving one another, and I try to imagine how it would be if he were to give in and take my virginity.
He doesn’t love me.
He doesn’t even know me enough to like me or care about me.
I would be a faceless pair of legs. Someone to momentarily get lost in, and once it was over, he would move on, most likely forgetting the encounter ever happened.
But I would always remember that night. Because for me, it wouldn’t just be a hookup. I’d have given something meaningful to someone who hadn’t wanted it or deserved it or even earned it.
And suddenly, I’m grateful that Lorenzo didn’t give in.
Because this isn’t what I want.
There has to be another way to get out of this mess.
To save my life.
But the question is, what is it?
“And so we meet again,” Lorenzo says as he steps up to the bar, where I’m sitting.
I glance over at him and smile, taking a sip of my white Russian. “It would seem so.” I reach out my hand. “By the way, I’m Vanessa Baker, Nicole’s stepsister.”