Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Yeah, I’m here to claim what’s mine, but that might not work out. I can’t see myself living here and watching my biggest regret breathing in my face. It’s why I came here first.
I need to clear my head before I jump into the fire waiting for me. This day has the potential to turn into shit real fast. My gut twists when I think of why I’m truly here in Arizona.
“Well, I hope things work out,” Christian says as he lifts his son into his arms.
“Same here, buddy. Same here.”
“You ready for that ice cream?” he says to his son.
“Yes,” Sean cheers.
“You enjoy your ice cream. I hope I see you around sometime,” I say to my new little friend.
“You want to come with us?”
“Not this time, bubby. I have somewhere to be.”
“Aw, okay. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Coswell. Thanks for signing my ball.”
“We’ll have to get a pic next time.”
His eyes light up and he nods excitedly. If only everything else in my life could be this simple. If it were, I wouldn’t be here, ready to tear my hair out.
My dad used to tell me what makes a man is not the things he does wrong, it’s how he takes the lesson and does better from it. You never fail; you learn. I’ve done a lot of learning.
“Bentley.”
I turn to my youngest brother, Eddy. He has a somber look on his face. “Mom’s been blowing up my phone. If we’re going to make the rehearsal dinner, we need to head out now.”
“Well then, let’s go crash a wedding.”
Zahirah
I look in the mirror at the sexy black dress I have on. I chose it because it says classy but confident in who I am. I need the reminder to get me through this.
“What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing?” I keep repeating the words as I shake my hands out in front of me.
“I’ve been asking you that for the last four months,” Erica, my childhood best friend, grumbles at me.
She’s not happy about this. I think I get why. It has nothing to do with my fiancé, Gilbert. Well, not really.
Things were never supposed to get this far. Gilbert is a nice guy; he should be engaged to someone he loves, not me. I’m still trying to figure out how we got here.
“Erica, I don’t want to fight about this again,” I mutter.
“Then don’t. Just call it off and fix your shit. I don’t thin—”
“No, not this again. I don’t have time for this right now.”
I’m getting ready to leave for the wedding rehearsal before our rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner for the wedding that was never supposed to happen. Yet here I stand.
The wedding is tomorrow, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to pull the plug on this charade before I walk down the aisle and say I do to a man I don’t love.
“Zahirah, have you asked yourself why you’re doing this?” Erica says from her perch on the arm of the accent chair in my living room.
I turn from the mirror to look at her. We lock eyes and her brother comes to mind right away. He has the same hazel eyes she does.
Eyes I know so well. I stop myself from going down that road. This isn’t about Bentley.
That was another life, another time. I had to let that dream go. No matter how much it hurt.
It was better to let go than to keep hurting each other. I shake my head clear. I can’t blame this mess I’m in on Bentley, not this time.
“He’s my friend. His grandmother is so sweet. It would break her heart if we told her the truth.”
Erica gives me a pointed glare. She’s the only one I’ve told the truth about all of this. What started out as a simple favor has blown up in my face.
I chew on my lip and begin to shake my hands out again. The ring on my finger feels so heavy and as if it doesn’t belong. I thought it was too much for a fake engagement from the time Gilbert gave it to me.
However, it did make sense that he needed to give me such an expensive and over-the-top ring. It would have looked strange otherwise. My fiancé is a wealthy man.
Another reason for me to freak out. This could all go so wrong. What the hell have I gotten myself into?
“So you’re about to marry a man you don’t love because you don’t want to hurt his grandmother’s feelings?” Erica scoffs, folding her arms over her chest. “God, I wish I never talked you into that first date. This is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. We should head out. Gilbert and I will figure something out before tomorrow evening. I just need to make it through tonight.”