Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“What?!” Mika sways and drops down to her knees. “Oh my god. No.” She blinks rapidly. “Wait. Define almost.”
“It didn’t happen. I promise. My car broke down in front of this hotel, and I realized it was one your dad owned. My phone was dead, so I went in to use theirs. This was after the whole finding Kevin balls deep in more than one woman. There was almost no one in the hotel lobby because it was late, and the door to the lounge was open, but there was no one in there. It was like how it is in the movies when this weird vibe practically summons you in.”
“You’re supposed to resist the pull of the devil,” Mika says dryly.
But her lips twitch despite it all. If she had a dollar for every time someone accused her of being in league with devil worship, she’d be as rich as her dad. She just likes dark fashion and makeup. She’s the sweetest, most caring, most loyal, smartest person I know. And she’s a total badass. It’s kind of ironic because she doesn’t even do tarot cards, and even vanilla, boring, and bland little old me has a few decks.
“It was weird. I thought, just one drink, and then I’ll call a tow and go home. There was this guy working at the bar. He was the only one in there. He was…” My face heats up to the same faded hue of dark pink as my nightgown. “He was attractive. Then I saw this crazy nice piano, and I started playing it and—”
“And it was like a siren call straight to his cold and lonely heart.”
“Why would he be working the bar?” I ask.
“He does that sometimes. I think he likes taking a break from the corporate responsibilities and just being a regular person sometimes.”
“That’s so weird.”
“So is the fact that you guys almost accidentally hooked up. How far did it go?”
There’s no way I can admit that.
“He was a gentleman and told me that I was upset and needed to go home and decompress. So it didn’t go far at all.” He just saw me in my lace skivvies, and I got a total lady boner for him. If he’d wanted to, I would gladly have let him stroke my pussy. I would have ground myself all over his fingers.
Mika rolls her eyes and paces a few steps over to the bookshelves on the far wall. They’re bursting full. I don’t allow myself many indulgences, but books are a budget buster. “Right. He wants it to mean something while, at the same time, getting married for real, but it’s fake to a total stranger for the cash and connections.”
“Please don’t tell me that you’re going to unfriend me for life. It was an honest mistake. I swear on my life it will never happen again.”
Also, can I give you the two grand to give to him to repay what he gave me last night because I’ll never be able to face him again?
Mika walks back to the couch and drops down beside me. She wraps her arms around my waist and sets her head on my lap. “I would never unfriend you.” We’re both silent for a beat. And then, of course, her wild Mika brain goes straight to the nefarious side. “Maybe this is a good thing.”
“How?” I leap up, dislodging her. “No, this is not good. Not freaking good at all.”
“He doesn’t deserve to be locked in a loveless marriage. It’s like he’s still punishing himself for not being able to make it work with my mom. Even she’s said that she hurt him and broke his heart. Not that she’s sorry about it. He’s clearly not happy, and whatever reason he’s doing this, it’s all the wrong reasons.”
“So, how is this good?” Mika has a brain that can go down eight wild channels all at once, searching to compute the best scenario. I’m seriously afraid I’m not going to like her answer.
“You need to break the wedding up.”
“Oh. No. Noppers. Heck to the no.” I flee straight to the kitchen with my glass, though I’m not sure I need to drink more water. I just need a gallon of it for my burning face.
I turn on the tap and splash water all over myself, drenching my hair and half my nightgown.
Mika is right there with the towel off the stove. Why do these things always smell like hashbrowns and rotting death, no matter how many times I wash them? I bypass it, grab a roll of paper towels, rip off a few, and dab at my face.
“I’m going to convince my dad to use you as his wedding planner. He basically knows nothing about my private life, so he doesn’t even know we’re best friends. Obviously. He would never have done anything last night if he knew. I know nothing happened,” she says when I try to protest. “But he wouldn’t have even let it get that far if he’d known. I truly believe that.” She loads up the coffee maker with water and gets the coffee grounds out of the tin beside it. She’s so efficient, even though I can tell her mind is ten million miles away. “You’re going to sabotage the wedding. Double book the venue. Make sure the dress isn’t ready on time. Order a cake full of laxatives. Find a real-life wizard and get him to hex some raccoons so they crash the wedding and eat everyone’s brains for real.”