Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
“Your wife did a beautiful job decorating this place,” I say, my eyes wide. “Is she a professional designer?”
The older man grins.
“Actually, I’m divorced from Kenneth’s mom,” he says while the corner of his mouth quirks up. “We got divorced a while ago actually. But Ken was already in high school then, so hopefully it didn’t affect him too much.”
I stare at this man. Is he sharing personal information with me too? Do we both have a case of verbal diarrhea?
“Oh, I think Kenneth’s turned out well,” I say with a small smile. “We knew each other in high school, albeit not well, but I never noticed anything wrong with him.”
The handsome man leads me to a sofa and smiles again at me.
“Really? That doesn’t sound like the Kenneth I know. My son has always been … interesting, shall we say?”
I stare up at this man from the gorgeous greyish-silver sofa. What do I say? Do I tell him that I think his son wants something unspeakable from me in exchange for letting my mom remain in her apartment? Do I reveal the nasty innuendoes to him, and beg for an escape?
But nothing comes out of my mouth because in fact, there’s nothing to say. Ken hasn’t really made me an offer yet. There have been dirty hints that make me shudder, and his commands to “dress pretty” and “wear sexy lingerie” exist. But if confronted, Kenneth could deny it all. He could say I was a liar, and then it would just be a “he said, she said” scenario.
Besides, I don’t know Xavier Carlton. He’s making fun of his son, but he probably loves Kenneth with all his heart and would be deeply hurt if I made even the tiniest negative comment. As a result, I decide not to say anything. I’ll just murmur a few bland platitudes, and then he’ll leave as his son appears.
But what does Kenneth have planned? How is he going to seduce me if his dad is right here, in the same apartment? Or is there a diabolical aspect to this all? For example, is Kenneth going to take me into the basement and tie me up, all the while his dad remains unaware upstairs?
I force myself to calm down. This isn’t a horror story, I say to myself in a firm voice. You’re not going to be kidnapped and then thrown into the dungeon of a castle like some helpless princess. You’re you, Katie, a regular girl. You’re not even special enough to be kidnapped.
As a result, I make myself take a breath and smile guilelessly at Mr. Carlton again. My breath catches when something flickers behind those dark blue eyes, and my heart begins to race. Does he know what I’m thinking? If he has a sense of the kind of person his son is, does he realize that I’m probably in danger at this very moment?
But Mr. Carlton doesn’t say anything. Instead, he merely nods and then asks, “Can I get you a drink?”
I stammer.
“Um, sure. What do you have?”
His lips quirk in a smile again.
“Well, can I serve you a big girl drink? Or would you like something like a milkshake or a juice?”
I stare at him briefly. This is such a weird conversation. Why would he offer me a milkshake, or even a juice for crying out loud? Those are kids’ drinks.
“I’ll take an adult drink, thanks,” I say quickly. “Rum and Coke if you have it.”
He grins.
“Coming right up.”
With that, the handsome man walks over to the mini-bar and lets himself behind the bar, where there’s a shelf of expensive liquor. He pulls down a brand of rum that I don’t recognize and then begins mixing the drinks.
“So Katie,” he rumbles while putting together my order. “It seems that your mother lives in one of our apartments, isn’t that right?”
I try to remain calm.
“Yes, that’s right,” is my slow reply. “Kenneth must have mentioned it to you. By the way, is he here? I was supposed to meet him tonight, and we were going to talk a little about that. I didn’t see you call him or buzz him, but maybe I missed it? I was hoping to put in a good word for my mom, you see.”
Mr. Carlton is silent for a moment as he adds ice to the glass tumblers. Then he lifts them both and comes out from around the bar to bring me my Rum and Coke. Damn, this man is so good-looking. His skin is deeply bronzed, and my hand shakes a bit when he hands me the drink.
Xavier notices and a gleam appears in those blue eyes again. But he merely folds his tall form into a chair across from me and gives me a calm look while sipping his drink.
“Actually, Kenneth doesn’t live here so he won’t be joining us,” the older man rumbles. “You’ll be meeting with me.”