Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 131651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 658(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 658(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“Didn’t know you were a fan of the dark stuff.” I’m pleasantly surprised.
“Yeah. You appreciate the sweetness more when there’s a little bitterness to balance it out. Besides, it’s loaded with good stuff, health wise. This teacher I had for yoga in Portland once never shut up about it. Miss Sage. I think she’s actually Ethan’s mother-in-law now. Small world!”
I close my eyes and shove a bigger chocolate chunk into my mouth.
Fuck everything about that image.
Nile, twisting and twerking her way through a yoga session.
“So we agree. No dating Jasper Fairfax. He’s already jerking you around.”
“We’ll see.” She smiles. “I thought we moved on from that? You’re still trying to tell me to avoid the older guys?”
“Yes,” I snap, exasperated. “Nothing but trouble. They’re loaded with baggage and all they’ll do is weigh down a young lady. Do better, Nile.”
Too harsh?
Her cheeks flare, turning coral pink.
I shake my head, willing myself back together.
It’s not just the absurd thought of her dating the art dealer that has me fuming.
I still don’t trust him as far as I can throw him and this silence isn’t helping his case.
There’s something shady about Fairfax I can’t quit pin down. Blood in the air. A faint smell I can sense, even if I can’t follow the trail.
She wants me to lay off it with no proof, and that’s fair. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to celebrate him for playing this waiting game, not even checking in as a courtesy.
Her gaze slides to the last of the chocolate.
“Huh. I’m a little surprised you eat chocolate at all. You used to be such a health freak.” Her eyes slide over me. “I mean, not that it hasn’t paid off.”
“I had pizza with you last night,” I point out, ignoring her comment on my looks.
“We’re in New York. You had to. That would be like having Christmas without presents. You left me to polish off all that wine.”
“I had a glass.”
“A glass.” She pouts at me again.
“You make a lot of assumptions about me, Nile.”
She’s not entirely wrong about my health focus. If I have to snack, I’ll pick some dried jerky, a protein bar, dark chocolate, and cashews.
Looking after your body reigns supreme in my line of work—and it still hasn’t saved me from the genetic time bomb waiting in my joints.
So much of life is random to a disgusting degree.
Effort only gets you so far, whether that’s trying to save your estranged girlfriend’s life at the eleventh hour or just maintaining basic fitness to do your job.
You never know when it’ll pay off.
You never know when you’ll go bust and it’s not your fault.
You never know how long you get until the clock runs out.
Still, I’ll choose to run it out until the bitter end, every time.
“Well, it’s a nice surprise to see you can enjoy yourself. Sometimes.” She leans over to grab the rest of the chocolate. Her thin top rides up her back.
I look away like I’m in the room with the sun.
Acres of smooth, bare, womanly skin.
She has a small mole on one side, and for some reason, I fixate on it.
Fuck, moles should not be sexy.
Yet it’s oddly arousing, this small imperfection on young, flawless flesh. A single splash of paint on her canvas.
“Still a lot about me you don’t know, and that’s for the best,” I say hoarsely, looking away and trying to pull an algebra problem from memory.
Math takes enough brainpower to distract my cock. I hope it does.
Because goddamn, it has ideas right now.
She slides another piece of chocolate between her lips and smiles. “Come on, what’s a little truth or dare? Maybe you’d feel better if you weren’t so closed off. Do you even have friends?”
“I—” I close my mouth. “I’m a single father. Not a life that leaves a lot of time for dicking around.”
Thankfully, I’m saved from an imminent disaster by her phone buzzing.
Her expression changes to surprise as she rips it off the sofa.
“It’s him!” she whispers, pressing it to her ear. “Hello?”
Thank God. Good timing when it helps wrench my mind off this ridiculous crush and centers everything again. That cursed egg is the only reason we’re both here.
With a trembling hand, she puts the call on speaker.
“…I apologize, it took me longer than anticipated to correspond with several experts overseas to verify everything. I couldn’t have gotten in touch unless I was one hundred percent sure, but I should have let you know sooner. Forgive me for that. I spent the night with my wife in urgent care for a kidney infection and I’m deeply sorry.”
Cleo looks like she’s about to cry with relief. Her voice remains steady. “I totally understand, it’s fine. Thanks for getting back to me. Do we have a verdict yet?”
“Yes. I’m pleased to say it’s all good news,” Fairfax continues. “Every expert I spoke with agrees that the Hera Egg appears to be authentic, based on the findings I shared. I hardly need to tell you how valuable this might be. I’m still putting together a formal appraisal, but I wanted to let you know as soon as I did.”