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)
He is a good cuddler. I didn’t expect that. But then I expected him to finish, shake my hand, and we would both go back to our corners.
I didn’t expect him to hold me all night.
I already kind of miss the feel of his arms around me.
“I think that’s a no.” Ivy’s head nods as she studies me. “That’s her ‘I’m trying to figure out how to answer a question I don’t want to answer’ face.”
I do have one of those. “Fine. It was good.”
“It being? The cuddling?” Ivy presses on.
Well, she’s obviously going to put me in a corner. I give her what I know she wants. “The sex. The sex was amazing. It was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“Me, too, baby.” Reid slides the door open and looks fresh as a daisy in his suit and tie. He winks my way. “I’ll save you a croissant. Don’t be late. We have plans to make. Ivy. Anika. Sorry for the early morning wake up.”
I wish he didn’t hear that. It’s true, but he doesn’t need the ego stroking.
“He’s peppy.” Anika pats my shoulder. “You keep that up. Now what is this about plans, and I just figured out your mother is not talking about eggs. Not the kind you buy at the store. Eww. Why?”
Two complicated questions. I take the easier one. “Because she wants grandchildren to prove she’s…I don’t know, a grandmother. I’m ruining her life by not procreating.”
“She’s on that again?” Ivy asks. “I remember in high school she thought I was a bad influence because I wanted to code. She told me computers wouldn’t get me a man. Hah. That’s exactly how I lured Heath in. Computers and boobs. They’re the only languages he speaks.”
“Well, she didn’t like me either,” Anika says with a frown.
Ivy’s eyes roll. “She loved you.”
“Only until she realized I was as career motivated as Ivy.” Ani sighs and leans against the counter. “I didn’t even think about it when I read the card she sent. She told me I made the right choice. I thought she was talking about Luca, but she was telling me choosing marriage over my career was the right choice.”
“You still have a career,” I point out. My mother has been doing a ton of damage. “You just work with a tiara on your head.”
She snorts, an entirely inelegant sound. “Do not. Mostly.” She sobers. “What are you going to do about Reid? Because that did not look like a man who was one and done.”
A feeling of deep uncertainty washes over me. I’m putting Ani at risk again. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to be professional with him. I don’t want to bring our drama into this show. I know how important it is, and last night was a moment of weakness.”
Ivy huffs under her breath. “Told you.”
Anika puts on her “deal with Harper because she’s a stubborn asshole” face. Yes, I’ve seen that one a lot. “Not what I was saying. Look, I know I come off as sweet and maybe naïve at times, and when I read the press coverage about the Banover reno, it’s a bunch of crap about it being a vanity project because Luca’s a king and I couldn’t possibly know anything. He’s indulging me. They don’t talk about the almost decade I put into my career. I let them because lowered expectations can sometimes lead to great things. I know how to control this narrative. I’ll be in the editing room. You and Reid do what you like. Figure out if this is a situation that might work for you both. And then we decide if there’s a love story attached to our reno or if I make it look like you and Reid barely spoke to each other through the entire process. It’s up to me. You cannot fail me unless you walk away.”
This is why I have the best friends. Smart, capable women who know their worth and who always have my back. I hug Anika. “I won’t walk away. Not ever.”
Ivy joins us. She used to be the one who hung back, but she now joyously throws herself in. “We can’t walk away. You guys are my family, and I think my mom is seriously dating CeCe’s driver. I heard CeCe calling him Diane’s Boyfriend instead of Thomas, and he didn’t correct her. You know how important it is to have a name in CeCe’s world.”
A revelation occurs to me. “Holy crap, you’re right. The last time I talked to CeCe she didn’t call me Ivy’s Friend or Construction Girl. She called me Harper.”
It’s almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.
“She stopped calling me The Blonde One. I’m Queen Anika, but she told me to never forget who the real queen is,” Anika explains.
We all know this answer.