Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22327 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22327 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
"Doesn’t look like I could even if I wanted to." I wiggle the locked handle to prove my point. "Unless you have a key?" I give him a mischievous smile, but his expression remains neutral.
"I have ricotta-filled cannoli."
"Oh, you're good," I tell him as I extend my hand in greeting. "I'm Jema. I mean, I’m sure you know that. We’ve clearly met before now, but it’s new to me."
"Edward,” he says calmly and shakes my hand politely before releasing it. “I handle the estate."
"Cool." I nod, glancing around. I can only imagine how big an undertaking that is. "This place has quite the vibe," I laugh. "The kind of vibe that’s for doing dirty, dark deeds."
"Excuse me?" His gray brows pull together, and I lean in.
"You don't know?" He gives a curt shake of his head. "I think this place might be haunted." A small laugh escapes him, revealing emotion for the first time. "Come on, you can tell me. That’s why the basement is locked, right? There are things down there that go bump in the night."
"You have quite the imagination."
"I should. After all, I'm a best-selling romantic suspense author."
"I was unaware of this," he says in confusion as his eyes search my face.
"I'm teasing," I say and playfully punch his shoulder. "I'm just making shit up. I guess that’s what you do when you have no memories."
“I understand." He gives me another curt nod, and I lean closer.
“Now about those cannoli you mentioned,” I say, and I swear he starts to smile. It’s only on one side, but he quickly gets it under control and motions for me to go back into the kitchen with him. “You know, if I say something funny and you laugh or smile, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Well,” he starts to say as he grabs a small plate and places a couple of cannoli on it, “you’d have to say something funny to find out.”
He pushes the plate toward me, and I don’t hide my smile. “Shots fired! I see how it is.”
“What’s going on in here?" a deep, sexy voice rumbles from behind me, sending a hot shiver of pleasure down my spine.
“We’ve been caught," I whisper to Edward.
“You’ve been caught,” he corrects.
“Should I make a run for it?” I ask Edward, still keeping my tone hushed. I’ve already spotted the two other exit points from the kitchen.
“Kitten, please don’t run from me. You've barely recovered from your last fall.”
Slowly I turn around to face my husband. Part of me wants to run so that he can give chase, but his worried expression keeps me in place. Besides, I’m probably already in enough trouble as it is…and I bet it’s going to be more than worth it.
Chapter 8
Salvador
I’ve been watching Jema since I got the alert that she left our wing of the house. I made sure to place cameras everywhere, but there’s a specific alert when the main door to our bedroom is opened or closed. As soon as I saw it, I began watching her.
Seeing her peek into the rooms upstairs and then decide on where to go was entertaining. Having her in my home and seeing her explore gave me a thrill of excitement. Especially when I thought of catching her.
“Come with me,” I say as I take her hand in mine.
Edward has the courtesy to glance away, but I don’t miss his small smirk. He’s taking pleasure in this newfound side of me, and I can’t say I don’t agree.
Without giving Jema a choice, I tug her along as I walk through the house and away from the basement. Seeing her get close to one of the entrances had the hair on the back of my neck standing up. There’s no way I can let her go down there. Not if there’s a chance she’ll find Joey. She could remember who he is to her and then remember that she’s not my wife.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re meeting with our lawyer, Watson.”
“Our lawyer?”
I look over at her as we make the turn down the long corridor that leads to my office. “Yes, the one who is in charge of our estate and family planning.”
“Oh,” she says in confusion. “Why do we have to meet with him?”
“Just a few quick updates.” Her eyebrows pull together in confusion, so I hurry to cover. “Since your accident, I realized that there were a few things that we never thought of. This is updating our wills to ensure that if anything like that happens again or happens to me that everything is taken care of and you don’t have to lift a finger.”
“I guess that’s a good idea,” she says while slowly nodding to herself. “Especially since I have no idea what happened before the accident.”
“Don’t worry, I’m more than happy to give you new memories to enjoy.” I wink down at her as I slide my arm around her waist and push open the door to my office with my free hand. “Now let’s get this taken care of so we can discuss your punishment afterwards.”