Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
There was so much to take in, and I felt as if I needed a moment. When my gaze landed on a topless woman who had on a wide-brimmed hot-pink hat, I sucked in a breath.
Sebastian moved up beside me. “I probably should have mentioned that. Clothing optional.”
I didn’t move. Was he joking? I swung my eyes back to him in shock.
He grinned and lifted an eyebrow. “Does that really surprise you?”
I nodded slowly. Yes, it did. This wasn’t the lounge room in the stables. It was a … a ballroom they had transformed into something else.
“I, uh, I’m not taking off my shirt or any clothing.”
His smile grew. “Thank fuck. We’d all end up with a bullet in us if you did.”
He placed a hand on my lower back in the exact spot King always touched. I almost recoiled and had to force myself not to react rudely. He didn’t mean anything by it.
“Storm and Thatch are here. So is Wells. After the other night, Dad wanted all of us here that could be, so he sent me home,” he explained. “You saw how well Maeme handles things, but it doesn’t mean that Ronan wants her to. Well, any of them really. They much prefer that she not have to get her hands dirty.”
Did King know now? He hadn’t called and talked to me about it. Was that even something he thought he needed to discuss with me? No, I was doing it again. I was letting my insecurities get the best of me. King was being kept from what had happened to protect him. He’d come back if he knew, and right now, Scotlin was his job. Not me.
A guy with pale blond hair that hung straight to his shoulders took a beer from the bar, then turned, his eyes locking on me, and he smiled. The way he held himself told me he thought more about his appearance than he should. He was attractive enough, but he was maybe five foot ten, and his brown eyes weren’t anything special. They seemed to lack something.
“Come on,” Sebastian said, leaning closer to me. “I’ll get you a water.” Then, he pointed toward the elaborate spread of food. “If you’re hungry, help yourself. The lobster and shrimp were fresh caught and flown in this morning.”
I nodded but followed behind him, unable not to watch as the topless woman with the pink hat grabbed a fancy glass from the table full of shrimp that looked like it had already been peeled. She stuck one in her mouth, then turned around to strut back over to where Thatcher was sitting with another topless female on his lap. Was he with both of them?
“I wondered where you had run off to,” the blond guy said, drawing my gaze from the woman back to him. “You always did have excellent taste.”
Sebastian shook his head. “Not mine. But off-limits,” he informed him, then looked at me. “Rumor, this is Oriel. He is one of our newest trainers down at the stables. He’s also a friend of Wells from his college days.”
The blond guy leaned against the bar, smiling appreciatively at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Rumor.”
I smiled, not sure what I was supposed to say or even if I should say anything.
“She’s King’s,” Sebastian said firmly.
This didn’t seem to affect Oriel.
He shrugged. “I’m just being friendly.”
“Keep it that way,” Sebastian said, then shifted his attention to the bartender. “Water and my scotch.”
“Or! Where’s my drink?” Wells called out from the sofa.
“I’m being beckoned,” Oriel said with a shake of his head and a smile that was meant to hide the annoyance, but I didn’t miss it.
As he walked off, carrying a glass of whiskey that he had taken from the bar, a glass of ice water was placed in front of me.
Sebastian slid it over. “There you go.”
I took it, then turned to see the screen while he waited for his drink. There was a sea of colorful hats as the camera scanned the crowd. Some people were talking about the upcoming race, but it was hard to hear over the noise in the room. I was just lifting the glass to my mouth when Scotlin’s face appeared with a floppy white hat over her perfectly styled hair. She was laughing, and I could hear her name being said just as she tilted her head back. That was when I saw him.
King. Beside her. Looking down at her with a smile.
She was so close that his hand had to be around her back. Like he did with me. My breath caught in my chest as I watched the next three seconds that they showed him. The room went up in a roar at his image on-screen, but it all seemed so far away. There was a whooshing in my ears. When the horses replaced them on the screen, I was still unable to move. I sucked in air. My lungs had started to burn.