Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
I couldn't answer it then, but I can answer it now.
And I think I'll have to say...no.
Not even if it's just to avoid being assaulted.
Because if that didn't happen, then I wouldn't be able to meet Judy and Heidi. If that didn't happen, I would still take my safety for granted. If that didn't happen, I would miss out on knowing just how much he—
Knock knock.
I check the time and almost groan.
"Give me a minute, please.”
I take one last look at my reflection.
The shirt and jeans are the cheapest this boutique has available, but because I recognize the brands, I know they're still way over my budget. They're also the nicest shirt and jeans I've ever worn, and so...
I think I look okay?
But...hmm.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a second or third opinion, would it?
I unlock the door, asking, "How do I look..."
My voice trails off when I realize that in front of me is neither Judy nor Heidi.
Oh.
It's been a week.
A whole week since I've seen him.
And in that week, my heart apparently forgot how to behave around tall British billionaires, because the moment my eyes land on him, my throat goes dry, and I find myself alternately blinking and gaping like an idiot.
Has he always been this...eye-catching?
Is it alright for me to notice, objectively of course, that he’s, well, drop-dead gorgeous?
And the expression on his beautiful face...
Did he ever look at me broodingly before?
And is it just me or does he look leaner right now? And tougher? Like he's been working out a lot, and that’s why—
Stop, Nicole.
Don't notice that.
Don't notice him.
Because my conscience has reached its decision, and it’s that for as long as I’m still married, I can’t think of my soon-to-be-ex-husband's boss as a man.
Much less, a handsome man—
"You look beautiful."
—who’s suddenly snarling at me even though I think he’s also just complimented me?
"Is what you want to hear?"
This time, he’s just biting each word out like it’s costing him so much to speak, and...oh.
He shoves his hands deep in his pockets. "Don't answer that."
His tone now matches his brooding expression, and that’s when I know for sure.
"You...you're jealous?"
The words have already spilled out before I realized what I'm saying, and I can only gasp, embarrassed and panicky. I can't believe I said that, much less have the audacity to believe—
"Shouldn't I be?"
W-What is he saying?
"I already made it clear I want to marry you," he grits out. "So why would you think I wouldn't be jealous?"
He suddenly charges forward like a man going on offense, and the next thing I know, my back is up against the mirror, and his hands have come down on either side of me, palms flat against the glass, caging me in.
This fitting room that once felt incredibly spacious, with its own chaise and round table—
The whole place suddenly feels claustrophobic and tiny, and I can only tell myself that's the only reason I'm struggling to breathe and stay still.
It's the only reason.
It has to be the only reason.
"You just told me you want to be beautiful—"
"B-But I didn't!"
I didn't mean to gasp, but he just has me so shocked. And when the words actually stop him from speaking—
"I never said I wanted to be beautiful," I can't help insisting on saying the same thing because it matters to me that he knows I'm not lying.
"So you just want to check your appearance, is that it?"
The sharpness of his words is painfully offset by the tautness of his tone, and it makes my heart ache again. It still doesn't feel right, for my heart to ache for another man like this, but when I see the way his jaw has clenched—
"You don’t understand,” I say shakily. “I just want to make sure there's nothing about my appearance—"
How can I protect my pride at the cost of his?
"—that would let him know what happened to me."
My voice catches at the end, but I force myself to continue.
"I don't want Sandy or anyone else again to ever think I'm easy to take advantage of."
Chapter Nineteen
SHE DOESN'T WANT TO be beautiful for her ex.
It takes a while for that to sink in, but when it finally does...
My palms come away from the mirror. I take a step back. Then another. My chest doesn't feel as tight, and when I look at Nicole, it's no longer with the eyes of a man made crazy by jealousy.
And that's why, this time I notice that her hair has been finger-combed too many times, and that she's a lot paler than usual. It makes me think of a surefire way of bringing color to her cheeks, but since I know by now how seriously Nicole takes her wedding vows, never mind if the man she married is her exact opposite and thinks of their marriage as nothing but a piece of paper—