Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 93(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 62(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 93(@200wpm)___ 74(@250wpm)___ 62(@300wpm)
“What in the world is going on?” Arlo, the café owner, storms over to investigate the situation. The circuits in my blown, sluggish mind fail to fire, and I end up staring helplessly as my curvy peach hands the empty pitcher to her boss before spinning around and dashing through the double swinging doors to the kitchen.
“Damn, you’d think the hounds of hell are chasing her,” Giant mutters behind me.
I turn to my MC brother and shrug. “Maybe not the hounds of hell but definitely her pissed-off soulmate.”
I hear Giant grumble under his breath, “The Silver Spoon Falls water even works through goddamn denim. Maybe I should skinny dip in that shit until it works for me.” Ignoring my friend’s wistful whine, I concentrate on the monkey wrench that just dropped into my future plans. This shit is about to get a ton more complicated. There’s no way I’ll marry the woman my brother chose. Not when my soulmate is right here in Silver Spoon Falls.
Now, I just need to find out who she is. And what caused my curvy little peach to grace my lap with an entire pitcher full of ice water.
Giant pulls Arlo to the side to get information on his new waitress while I attempt to pull my head out of my ass.
“I have good news and bad news.” He returns to our table. “What do you want first?”
“Just fucking lay it on me.” I’m not in the mood for his shit.
“It seems Arlo felt sorry for the little scam artist and gave her a job without getting accurate info on her.” My heart stops in my chest as I attempt to comprehend what he’s saying. “She’s given him three different socials and none of them pan out. He’s going to have to let her go if she doesn’t come up with verifiable info.”
“What the fuck?” I run my hand down the back of my neck, wondering if she’s in some sort of trouble.
“Your cute little waitress is hiding from something, and Arlo has no idea who she really is. Plus, she quit on her way out the back door.” Giant shakes his head. “Now, I know you’re totally fucked.”
“Can you investigate her?” I’m not willing to let the grass grow under my feet. My heart and cock are completely invested in my curvy little peach, and nothing is going to stand in my way.
“I’ll get right on it,” Giant promises. “Go get some rest. You look like hammered shit.”
“Thanks a lot.” I throw a few bills onto the table, even though we never ordered food, and follow Giant out the door.
“Don’t worry,” he assures me. “She can’t hide from my resources.”
CHAPTER
TWO
MILLY
What a drop-dead, hot-as-Hades, total jerk. The hottest freaking man I’ve ever seen. And he thinks marrying me is a fate worse than death. Well, in all honesty, he doesn’t know it’s me, but still. Prince Damien De Angelis just made his feelings on the matter quite clear.
My luck just sucks lately. When King Lorenzo called my father’s best friend and asked for my hand in marriage, and to my childhood crush, I thought for sure I was about to win the fate lottery. Instead, the hottest jerk in the universe hates the idea of being tied to me for life. My girly heart is crushed. I hope he gets frostbite from the ice-cold water I dumped in his lap.
Self-preservation. Actually, fight or flight kicks in, and I realize it would be a great time to flee before either of the men has time to react. I call an apology over my shoulder while rushing into the café kitchen. I ignore all the shocked gazes and head straight for the back door. On my way out, I mumble, “I quit,” to Arlo, then make my escape.
My virgin lady parts are still tingling from being close to him while my shattered heart cries out for revenge. The whole pitcher dump wasn’t my best moment, but seeing the jerk prince dancing around like he has ants in his pants was entertaining.
At least Prince Damien has no idea of my real identity, I console myself. I wouldn’t be able to handle the humiliation. Maybe we can escape from Silver Spoon Falls, Texas, before he figures out the new waitress at The Trust Fund Café is his almost fiancée. Me.
Once I get back to Belldonnia, I’ll have to find a way to turn down King Lorenzo’s arranged marriage offer. Then I can search for a way to remove the hold Damien has on my heart. No big deal, I lie to myself.
My internal pep talk fails, and I end up more depressed than I was ten minutes ago. My impulsivity has me up the creek without a paddle again. I’m depending on Rose, my levelheaded best friend, to have some ideas of how to handle this mess. I step into the small apartment that Rose and I share and drop my purse on the counter. “It’s been the day from hell.” And then some, I add silently.