Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
He listened for another minute because Vanessa had never stopped yelling on the other line. I couldn’t hear anything she was saying, but it didn’t sound pleasant.
“I said I would deal with it,” he growled. Then, he hung up the phone. He ran a hand back through his hair. His eyes closed as a tortured expression crossed his face.
I was paralyzed through all of it. I couldn’t back away. I couldn’t reach forward. I didn’t know him well enough to offer comfort. Even Emery looked torn between interfering in his past relationship and her stepson and staying out of it. If even she couldn’t decide, how could I do anything?
Finally, Jensen released a puff of air and glanced between us. “Colton was arrested.”
“Oh my God,” Emery whispered. “What happened?”
“I don’t have all the details. Vanessa was just screaming and crying. She’s going to bail him out. I have to get to New York to be there when he comes home. He clearly doesn’t respect her, and he’s not getting away with no consequences this time.”
“Of course. Do you want me to come with you?”
He shook his head. “Stay here with the kids. I’ll handle it and be back before you miss me.”
“Impossible.” She stepped forward into his arms and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Whitt,” Jensen said. “Sorry about this.”
“No need to apologize.”
“What about the announcement?” Emery asked. “There’re thousands of people out there, Jensen.”
He huffed. I could see that he wanted to ditch and head straight to the city. His responsibilities were split. But I watched the moment he decided to follow through.
“I’ll give the speech but skip the rest. I can’t shake hands and kiss babies when I need to be with my own kid,” Jensen said.
“Are you sure?” Emery asked.
He nodded. His gaze shifted back to me. “Any last notes?”
“No notes. You’ve got this,” I assured him.
I offered the notecards back to him. He took them and tucked them back into his suit.
“I assume you’re lying, but thank you anyway. Maybe we can sit down together before the next one. Jordan said you’ve become a valuable asset at the company.”
“I’d like that,” I told him and then stepped away.
Jensen’s campaign manager ushered the rest of the family and friends who were backstage out of the area to fill up the VIP section they’d reserved at the outdoor auditorium in Mackenzie Park for Jensen’s announcement. I caught up with West and Nora on the stairs.
West shot me a look. The weird thing about having a twin was that sometimes we didn’t have to say a single thing to the other. We weren’t like the twins you saw on TV, where we were the same people who wore the same clothes and said the same things. That never happened. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t feel like we could read each other’s mind. And right now, we both felt out of place in the midst of all these actual Wrights.
Still, once we reached the back of the group, I explained what had happened.
West sighed. “Fuck.”
“Tell me about it.”
“That’s terrible,” Nora said. “I can’t believe he’s still doing all of this.”
“He has to,” West said. “The show must go on.”
Jensen couldn’t cancel. Not when the entire place was jam-packed with supporters. Not without explaining something he very publicly did not want people to know about. Not without getting in front of what had happened. Something he didn’t even know about yet.
While all of that was going on, my mind was elsewhere. My eyes scanned the crowd, seeing a sea of unfamiliar faces.
Eve had said she was coming.
She’d told me she’d see me here.
Her roommates were already in attendance. Piper stood with her boyfriend and Nora’s brother Hollin. Blaire stood next to them with Annie. Nora’s other brother and Blaire’s boyfriend, Campbell, wasn’t in attendance, but that wasn’t surprising. West had said that Campbell frequently got mauled in public and big crowds without security wasn’t good for him. The life of a rockstar.
But no Eve.
“What are you looking for?” West asked.
I whipped back around. “Nothing.”
I hadn’t told him that Eve and I were working together. Or that I was still very much interested in the perky brunette. I’d given up after what happened after the wedding. Then, she’d sauntered back into my life yesterday, and a desire I couldn’t ignore had reignited.
“Nothing,” West said disbelievingly. “Sure.”
Fuck our mind reading sometimes.
One of Jensen’s staff came onstage to announce him. A roaring cheer went up from the crowd, and still, there was no Eve. She hadn’t taken me up on needing a ride. I’d thought that she would get one with her roommates. Maybe her car was still messed up, and she’d tried to Uber in this mess.
I considered pulling my phone out to text her when I caught sight of her at the top of the stairs that led down to where we were sitting. She had her high heels in one hand. Her dark hair pulled up high on her head. Her blue dress formed to her curvy features. Even from a distance, she was the most arresting figure I’d ever seen. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her.