Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“You have Bodie,” I reminded her.
This time when she said blech, there was an added eye roll, leaving no doubt she meant it. She didn’t leave me room to call her on it, though, because in the next instant, she turned and motioned for me to follow her.
“Austin,” Rae’s dad, Kenneth, greeted. He stood from the table with a wide smile, coming around to greet me. I offered my hand, but he quickly brushed it away and pulled me in for a back-slapping hug. “I’m glad you could make dinner. Now it’s a true family dinner.”
“Wouldn’t miss Ida’s cooking for the world.” I winked at Rae’s mom as she rounded the table and pulled me in for a hug almost as tight as Rae’s.
When Rae and I started our friendship all those years ago, we went all out. She took me home whenever she got the chance, and I melded with the Vos family as if they were my own.
Bodie half-raised from his seat to reach across the table and deliver a weak handshake. He didn’t like me. Not even his forced lawyer smile could hide the disdain in his cold blue eyes.
“I hear you’re headed to Vegas next week,” Kenneth said from his seat at the head of the table.
“Yes, sir.”
“Make sure you take care of our girl here. Especially since Bodie can’t make it.”
It filled me with petty joy every time his eye twitched over my close relationship with Rae and her family. He’d probably fully unmask his hatred and hit me in the face if he knew how much I truly loved her and would happily snatch her from him if she’d ever want me for more than a night.
“I’ll make sure Rae at least stays out of jail.”
“All parents can ask for,” Ida added, laughing. She shook her head, meeting Kenneth’s eyes with a shrug.
I’d never met two parents who supported their child to own who they were as much as Rae’s did. Not that I had great examples to go by. I never knew my mom and my dad kicked off when I was a teen. Thankfully, my grandparents took my brother and me in, and that was when I learned what true support looked like.
“I’m sure it can’t be easy sticking to a friend’s side when you’re single in Vegas,” Bodie said. “Especially for someone with such a rural background. The bright lights must be a little distracting.”
For a moment, I imagined cutting through his snide remark with a biting comment of my own. Instead, I managed to bite my tongue—a skill I’d had to learn well. My temper and acerbic tongue got me into more fights than I’d like to admit. As much as I wanted to take Bodie down a peg, it didn’t serve any purpose than to provide a rush of victory, quickly followed by the fallout.
“I think I’ll manage,” I grit out.
“Besides,” he continued, turning his attention to Rae. “My girlfriend is a good girl. She won’t get in trouble.”
I held my breath, waiting for Rae to scoff at Bodie complimenting her like a dog. Except she didn’t. The air slowly seeped out as I watched the wild woman I knew give a pinched smile before emptying her half-full wine glass. When he rubbed his hand along her neck, she stiffened, her shoulders tensing up to her ears. It wasn’t until he finally pulled away that she relaxed again, only to snatch the bottle of wine to refill her glass.
I waited for her to look up so I could gauge her reaction—try to read what went on in her head, but she never looked up from the table. By the time she finally did, a blank wall stared back. Over the years, we got so good at reading each other that we didn’t always need words. I used that now and cocked my head, asking her what was wrong. It was only then that she softened and smiled, giving a careless shrug like nothing had happened.
Except it did, and I couldn’t brush it off as easily as her. I couldn’t ignore the way it happened more and more frequently. I noticed it first when she was around Bodie, but lately, it extended to when she hung around me and the girls.
The Rae that greeted me so exuberantly in the hallway disappeared a little more each time I saw her, and I didn’t like it. I just didn’t know what to do because any time I brought it up, she shut me down.
Maybe her increasingly tepid personality had to do with her dad’s campaign. Kenneth had always been in the public eye because of his company, Vos Industries, but now that he’d shifted his attention to running for Senate, eyes were on the whole family—especially Rae. Although Kenneth made his stance on his daughter being a free woman who could have fun without being held to a double standard quite clear. So, blaming the change in her on the campaign didn’t really add up.