Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
“Nah,” Will muttered. “Just girls I fucked.”
“You were Romeo even back then?”
He rolled his shoulders. “It’s always been easy for me. I never had to put in any effort.”
“Then how come you’ve never stopped pursuing me?”
“Because you challenge me, Clarke. No one has ever gotten under my skin the way you do.”
“So, you like me because I won’t drop to my knees for you.”
He laughed. “You do that, too. It’s just different when you do.”
“I hate you,” I groaned. “You really annoy me.”
“It’s true. Just admit it. The night we met, you were begging for my cock.”
“That’s the point of a one-night stand.”
“Like I told you that night, it was fate.”
“Idiot,” I muttered. “There’s no such thing.”
“I’m not your dad or your ex-husband, Clarke. So stop treating me like I’m them.”
We had awhile until we reached New York-New York Hotel on foot. Sweat slid down my forehead from the blaring sunlight. Vegas was hot as hell.
I stopped at the curb. “I’m hailing a cab.”
“It’s not that much farther,” Will said.
My hand shot in the air as I hung off the edge of the curb.
After years of living in Manhattan, I had gotten used to flagging down cabbies. Now everyone used Uber, but I was happy that Vegas was still old school.
A yellow cab pulled up beside us, and we hopped inside. Will slid across the bench, his muscular thigh pressing into mine. His body was so hard and warm. For a second, my thoughts drifted, and then the cab driver spoke.
“Where to?”
I snapped out of my head and said, “New York-New York.”
He nodded, then drove toward the hotel.
“Seems kind convenient,” Will said. “Don’t you think? We met in New York. You showed me your party girl side for the first time in years at the hotel that bears the same name.”
“Being around you makes me want to get drunk,” I shot back. “Definitely not fate… if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I was joking when I said that, you know.”
“I know. But you always bring it up.”
“What was the chance I would see you again after you left New York? And then of all places, you end up working at The Philadelphia Inquirer with my sister? If that wasn’t fate bringing us back together, then I don’t know what to call it.”
“You were right,” I confessed. “I like you. But I don’t want to.”
“Nothing wrong with us getting to know each other.”
There were lots of things wrong with sharing myself with a man. My body was one thing… but my heart? I could not handle the thought of giving all of myself to another man. It terrified me to let Will into my heart. When you love someone, it gives them power over you. They can break you. And I’d let men break my heart too many times.
“I’m not ready,” I said after a long pause. “Let’s just see how this living situation goes.”
Will squeezed my hand against the leather bench. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”
I smiled, a real one for once. He seemed convinced we shared something special, and I was wondering if he was right.
We sat in silence until the cab driver stopped in front of New York-New York. Will handed the man money, and we climbed out of the car, moving our way toward the casino.
“Do you remember if I had my phone at Coyote Ugly?” I asked him.
“No. You were on the bar most of the time.”
“This is a long-shot. I doubt I lost it here.”
He shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
After two hours of searching various places in Las Vegas, we ended up at the same chapel where we got married. We strolled into the deserted building, where a man dressed as Elvis Presley sat on a folding chair in the last row of the chapel. He dangled a black dress shoe off his foot as he stared down at his cell phone. From the looks of it, he was playing a video game, cursing under his breath.
“Hey King,” Will said to fake Elvis.
The man glanced up at us, and then his eyes widened. “You two. Never thought I’d see you again. Last night…” He rose from the chair and pocketed his cell phone. “You guys tore this place apart.”
My eyes scanned the room that needed a makeover and a little TLC, but otherwise, it seemed okay.
“What do you mean?” I choked out.
“You had everyone in the chapel singing and standing on chairs,” fake Elvis said. “Passing around beers and chanting for the Flyers.”
“Oh, my God,” Will muttered. “Get the fuck out of here. You’re joking, right?”
Elvis shook his head. “Afraid not.”
Will blew out a deep breath. “It’s worse than I thought.”
“Did you find my cell phone?” I asked. “I think I may have lost it here.”
Elvis nodded. “Someone turned in an iPhone with a black and pink case last night.”