Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“Andie, darling, we simply must have lunch. I’ll have my assistant call yours.”
She didn’t have an assistant.
She wasn’t sure she even had a lunch schedule.
But she smiled and nodded and let Paul guide her through the crowd, his hand warm and steady on the small of her back. The gown he’d chosen for her was a deep emerald silk that hugged her curves in ways that made her blush every time she caught him looking. Which was often. While its neckline was reassuringly modest—nothing like what she wore during their honeymoon, for sure—the back of the gown, well...
It left little to the imagination, and it certainly had her gulping every so often, with how Paul would caress her bare skin here and there.
“S-Stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“You know what I’m talking about.” Her tone was part reproachful, part pleading, but even as she spoke, she was also looking around the ballroom, hoping and praying that even though it was very unlikely—
“She’s not coming, koukla mou.”
Her gaze flew to him guiltily. “W-What—”
“You worry about your aunt,” her husband said dryly, “never mind if she would be the first person to throw a party if we were to have a divorce.”
Oops.
All she could do was smile weakly. “I just...I just feel guilty still. I know how much she’s looked forward to attending this party—”
“Then would you have rather I take your aunt as my date?”
“NO!”
So aghast she was at the idea that she only realized she had gasped the word out loud enough to draw curious glances from the other guests.
Oops.
But then she glanced up, and all Andie could do was make a face upon seeing the possessive satisfaction blazing from her husband’s gray eyes.
“As a reward for being so open about how much you adore me—”
A-Adore?
“I didn’t actually say—”
“You’ll be delighted to know—” But Paul went on speaking as if he hadn’t heard her at all. “—that I spoke to Joyce earlier. She and your mother have made up—”
Another gasp escaped her. She knew right away that was the reason her mother had been acting so weird and suspicious when Andie had asked if she could fly to Texas to meet Paul.
“—AND WE’LL JOIN THEM for dinner tomorrow night.”
Andie found herself clutching her husband’s arm, feeling like she was about to lose her balance any moment with all the truth bombs he had been dropping every few moments.
“This is so hard to take in...”
“You’ll soon realize that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to your aunt. She’s always been a survivor, and the only person she looks out for is herself. How do you think she managed to stay faithful to my mentor all these years? She knew he’d divorce her the moment she strayed.”
“But what about you?” she asked in a small voice. “What if she was really in love with you—”
“She was.”
Oh no—
“With my money, that is.”
—or maybe it should be oh yes? oh phew? oh...oh, I don’t know what to think!
“And that’s why she told me in no uncertain terms she plans to make the most out of having me as her nephew instead.”
Andie still hadn’t made up her mind on whether to laugh or cry about her aunt’s “survival” skills when their number flashed on the massive screen overhead. It was finally their turn to take Frontier Ball’s Ultimate Challenge, which never failed to go viral every year.
Paul’s eyes were on his wife as they entered the challenge room, and his lips pressed together as he saw her eyes widen in shock.
“A m-mechanical bull?”
“You’ve never tried riding one then?”
Andie shook her head, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“You think we can set a record, koukla mou?”
“Of course!”
Her fighting spirit was adorable as always, but he already knew that she was doomed to fail...
“Let’s give it a try then.”
...because he already had everything planned.
As her husband led her to the makeshift rodeo, which even had fake spectators cheering for them by name from walled digital displays, Andie wondered absently why the other guests had yet to come in and join them. Since Paul always attracted attention wherever they went, it didn’t make sense that not a single guess wanted to see how they’d do with tonight’s challenge.
“Ready?”
Andie didn’t have a chance to answer, with Paul already lifting her onto the bull, his hands spanning her waist with easy strength. The leather was warm beneath her thighs, and she grabbed instinctively for the rope attached to the front, trying to find her balance.
“I’m starting to feel a little ner—”
He climbed up behind her and the bull lurched to life as soon as he reached around her to hit a green button.
“Paul!”
She wished she could look at him over her shoulder, but all she could do was gasp his name out loud while hanging on for dear life. All the other guests before them had done this challenge individually. So why was he—