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)
I knock.
Knock again.
“You looking for Mike?” a voice says from the next house.
I look over to see a little girl with her dark hair up in a ponytail. She’s wearing a blue one-piece bathing suit with flip-flops. Didn’t her mother teach her not to talk to strangers?
“Yeah,” I say. “He’s an old friend.”
She smiles, revealing two missing teeth right in front. “He’s my mommy’s boyfriend.”
"Is he around?" I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.
The little girl shakes her head, her ponytail bouncing. "Nope. He went fishing early this morning. Said he had a big catch to land."
A sinking feeling wells up in my chest, but I cover it with a casual smile. "Did he say when he'll be back?"
She shrugs her small shoulders, squinting against the sunlight filtering down through the palm trees. "Mommy says Mike comes and goes like the tide. Sometimes he's here all day, and sometimes he's gone for weeks."
Interesting. Did I come all the way for nothing? I have to get back to the island tomorrow.
“What’s your name?” I ask the girl.
“Tammy. What’s yours?”
“River. Is your mommy home, Tammy?”
“She’s at work.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You’re not home alone, are you?”
“No, silly. My grandma’s here. You want me to get her?”
“Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Okay.” She ambles into the house.
I try the knob on the door of the pink house and gasp when it turns. He left his house unlocked? Fuck.
Tammy returns with an older woman wearing a bikini top and cutoff shorts. I walk toward them.
“Hi there,” she says. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for the man who lives here,” I say, holding out my hand. “My name’s River Barrett.”
She shakes my hand. “I’m Lynnette Combs, and I guess you’ve met Tammy. Mike’s out on the boat.”
“That’s what Tammy said. Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“By five, I hope. He’s supposed to watch Tammy until Felicity comes home. It’s my book club tonight.”
Tammy laughs. “Mommy says your book club is more of a wine club.”
Lynnette doesn’t seem embarrassed by her granddaughter’s revelation. “I’m still young enough to have a good time,” she laughs.
“By five, huh?” I scratch my head. “I guess I’ll wait.”
“Would you like to come inside?” Lynnette asks, eyeing me as if I’m a prime rib special.
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s no bother. Any friend of Mike’s is a friend of ours, right, baby girl?”
Tammy nods, her ponytail bobbing.
I follow the two of them into the house, and before I take in anything else, a photo on the wall jumps out at me.
“That’s him,” Tammy says, pointing. “That’s Mike with my mommy. Isn’t she pretty?”
EPISODE 177
SNAFU
Sebastian
I knock on Emily’s door. My clothes are damp and full of sand. I need a shower. I need so many things.
Beginning with the woman on the other side of this door.
When she opens the door wearing nothing but a towel, her blond hair in wet waves around her shoulders, all I can say is, “Emily.”
“What do you want?” she demands in that uppity accent that makes me go insane.
“Easy, Emily. I want you.”
She swallows. “I...uh... We just had sex, Sebastian. What the hell else could you possibly want?”
I walk into her room without an invitation. “Tell me,” I say, gazing into her gorgeous blue eyes. “You said you didn’t want to choose Alex last night. Who did you want to choose, Emily? Who?”
She backs away, the look on her face one of... I’m not sure. She’s not frightened, by any means, but she’s...apprehensive?
Hell. Did I just make a huge-ass mistake?
Not according to my cock. It’s hard for her again. Hard to be inside that tight little English cunt.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that fuck, Emily,” I say.
“I’m not telling you that.” She secures the robe above her breasts.
“I’ve been with Ariel, with Heather, with June. None of them compares to you, my English rose.”
It’s not a lie. Not really. They were all great. But did I enjoy Emily more than I enjoyed Heather?
That’s probably a tossup. Heather is one hot little fuck.
But something about Emily has me going. Is she just in the right place at the right time?
Or is something more brewing?
Hell if I know, but I’d like to find out.
“I’ll go if you tell me to go,” I say, taking another step toward her. “But know this. I’ve wanted you since the first night. You know that.”
“You avoided me like the plague after the first night,” she says, turning her full lips into a luscious scowl.
“But you noticed.” I retort, inching closer to her. “You noticed every time I looked away, every time I chose someone else to dance with, to drink with.”
She hesitates before nodding, the towel clinging tightly to her. “But that was before,” she says.
I move forward another step. The energy between us is thick and palpable.
“Before what?” I ask.