Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
When did this happen? When did my love for River grow deeper than my love for my career? This was supposed to be a transaction, a business deal. Something clear and defined with strict boundaries. I’d get my designs back, and then I’d be on my way, with the added bonus of having the money and clout to track down who stole my intellectual property.
But feelings aren’t transactions. They don’t give you receipts and guarantees. They confuse you, make you question everything.
Perhaps it’s too late now. Perhaps my blackmailer will expose me and shatter my career before I can even approach River about it.
I get out of bed and wrap the crisp white sheet around my body.
I walk toward the bathroom, but then I notice the light on in the walk-in closet.
River sits on the floor, in front of an open safe.
“River,” I say, “what are you doing?”
EPISODE 146
LOVE AND LOSS
Sienna
I gulp as I walk swiftly out of the room, the door closing behind me. My heart drums as I lean against the wall in the hallway, sliding down onto the cold floor.
I should call Leroy. I fumble with my phone and it slips out of my grasp.
I pick it up just as it starts buzzing with a call. I don’t recognize the number. It could be Leroy calling from a hospital phone.
“Hello?” I say, breathless. “Leroy?”
“No, Sienna,” a deep voice says. “This is Brett. From the island. I miss you, dancing queen.”
I blink, the distraction of Brett’s call cutting through the panic choke-holding me.
Dancing Queen.
The first night on the island. Mere days ago, but it almost seems like a lifetime.
But it comes back to me in technicolor.
Heather and I hit the dancefloor, and Brett took notice. He grabbed me, twirled me around, and we danced to “Love Man” by Otis Redding—the Dirty Dancing song. We were in complete sync, our bodies moving as one. All eyes were on us, and when the song ended, applause rang out.
Heather asked me to teach her my moves—moves I learned from Leroy, no less. He’s a fabulous dancer. But Brett—and I recall his exact words—said, “Later. She’s mine for now.”
We danced to a slow song. He held me close, and I smelled his crisp, citrusy scent...and felt his hardness against me. My body... It reacted...
And I was no longer a wallflower.
After that song ended, Misty tried to cut in, but Brett didn’t let her. I let myself go, felt free in his arms...until that song ended as well.
He kissed my cheek and said, “Thanks, Sienna. You’re a beautiful dancer.”
Then he moved on...toward Heather. And I moved on to some bourbon, standing on the sidelines once again, until I gathered some courage and asked Alex to dance.
And we...
Well, we ended up on the beach having sex.
I didn’t give Brett any more thought until the next day when he gave me a hell of an orgasm on the catamaran, and again during our date.
Then, of course, there was our frantic fuck in the limo before I got on my flight.
But what truly drew me to him was our kiss on the beach yesterday morning when he told me to go to Leroy, to try to work things out if I still had feelings.
And I do.
Or did.
Confusion. Such confusion! I love Leroy. I do. When I saw him again this morning, all I wanted to do was to fall into his arms.
But hearing Brett’s voice...
“You there?” he asks.
“Yeah. I’m sorry. This isn’t a good time.”
“I understand,” he replies, his rich timbre an odd comfort against the chaos in Lavonne’s room. “I just...wanted to hear your voice.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I’d like to tell you in person,” he says.
“I can’t leave here. Lavonne is... She’s...” I gulp. “I don’t know what’s going on. I should go. Leroy and his dad went somewhere to get a bite to eat. And Lavonne is... It’s a code blue or something. It’s doesn’t look good, Brett.” I choke back a sob. “It doesn’t look good.”
“Oh, baby... I’m sorry.” His voice soothes me. “Yeah. You do what you need to do. But I need you to know something. I want you to come back, Sienna. I really want you to come back.”
Before I can decipher the implications of his words, Leroy and Bob appear from around the corner.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” I end the call abruptly.
Leroy and Bob rush toward me, their expressions frantic.
“Sienna, what happened?” Leroy asks, his brown eyes wide with panic.
“There was... They...” I struggle to find the words, nearly stumbling. How do you tell someone his mother—his wife—might be dying? “They told me to leave the room.”
Bob’s hands shake as he rubs them over his face. “Is she...”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me anything before they made me leave.”
Leroy turns to his father. “Dad, you need to sit down.”