Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
“Your sister performed some kind of black magic on my dog—she denies it, but nothing else makes sense,” insisted Drey. “He’s still not quite right upstairs, and I doubt anything will change that. But he’s more chilled. Especially around Harri. He fairly trips all over himself to please her, tongue lolling, tail wagging. He absolutely adores her.”
“Harri’s easy to adore.”
The curve of his mouth said he agreed … but not as a guy potentially interested in a girl. No, more as a guy who thought he had a super cool friend.
Ugh, these two were gonna drive me bonkers. Because honestly, I thought they’d make a good couple if they’d only consider crossing the “friend” line. “It would seem that Jameson certainly thinks so—he wants to take her out for lunch.” Harri had mentioned it yesterday via text.
A faint line dented Drey’s brow, making him look somewhat put-out. Huh. How very interesting.
“Isn’t he a little old for her?” asked Drey, his voice sort of gruff.
I snickered. “You sound like Alicia.” I didn’t miss that Jag’s shoulders slightly tensed on hearing her name. “But then, she thinks everyone’s too old for Harri.”
Drey scratched his jaw. “I saw Alicia from afar a few days ago. She was scowling at her phone like its very existence offended her.”
She had probably received yet another message from Dario. The asshole wasn’t giving up. I wouldn’t explain the situation to these people here, though. I liked Drey and Jag a lot, but Alicia’s business was her business. And I wouldn’t reveal any of it in front of Leonie anyway.
As such, I gave an aloof shrug and said, “Maybe she lost at a game of Solitaire or something. Right, I’ve got to dash. Thank you for the assist, it was good to see you all.” Or it was good to see the guys, anyway.
We exchanged goodbyes, though all I received from Leonie was a halfhearted wave that was no more than a flick of her hand. Oh, how heartbroken I was.
I made my way to the driver’s door and pulled it open. I was about to slide into the vehicle when I noticed two people standing near a parked car several feet away in the lot.
Felicity and Blaise.
Wonderful. Positively wonderful.
I straightened my shoulders, bracing myself for trouble. But … I didn’t receive my usual snarl from Blaise. He avoided meeting my eyes like they had the ability to hypnotize.
Felicity didn’t sneer at me either. In fact, she weirdly flashed me a smirk. A mean-ass, superior, “I almost pity you” smirk.
I tensed. In what world would she ever pity me? Ever?
In a world where she knew about the pact.
That seemed the likeliest explanation. She could have learned of it from Grayden. Having such knowledge would definitely result in Felicity finding me nothing but a mere joke—that was how she’d view the situation.
Maybe I should have expected Grayden to tell her. He wasn’t exactly a fan of either Dax or me at the moment. I’d seen him from a distance a few times while out and about. He spotted me on each occasion but made a point of looking the other way in a dismissive gesture.
“Well, hello, Addison,” Felicity all but sang. “Hope you and Dax are doing well.”
A nervous-looking Blaise whispered something into her ear and pulled at her arm, trying to lead her away. A smart decision on his part—and a sign that he’d hopefully turn his behavior around. She didn’t fight him, shooting me a glance that said I wasn’t worth her time.
Well, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with any confrontations.
Personally, though, I doubted she’d walked away merely due to finding it darkly amusing that my marriage was a business arrangement. It was more probable that she’d kept her silence because she feared Dax’s reaction. That fear had likely been what had stopped her from bitchily spreading news of the pact around Redwater.
Letting out a long breath, I hopped into my car, buckled in, and switched on the engine. The drive home was relatively short, so I was soon parking in my driveaway. There, I hefted my loaded bags out of the trunk with an oof and then closed it. Once I’d locked my car, I headed inside.
Dax was just coming down the hallway, a steaming mug in hand, when I entered the villa.
Closing the door behind me, I offered him a smile. “Hey, there.”
His brow furrowed. “You went shopping?”
“What gave it away?” I asked, deadpan.
He tossed me an impatient look. “I’m simply surprised because you said you were running errands.”
“I did. They included buying Christmas presents.” I paused. “I just bumped into your brother.”
“Which brother?”
“My favorite one.”
Dax let out a long-suffering sigh. “Right.”
I felt the corner of my lips inch up. “I was talking about Drey, as it happens—he’s hitting the bowling alley with Jag and my bestie.”