Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“What about your name?” Kai said to me. “Your parents picked the last letter of the alphabet. It must take forever to get to you during alphabetical order.”
“That happened a lot in grade school. I’d always be the last person in line.”
“Did you mind?” Landon asked.
“No. It gave me an extra minute or two to read at my desk.”
“What’d you read?” Asher said from his chair.
“The daily stock reports.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know. It was a long time ago.”
“Ignore him,” Kai said. “He’ll be a chalk outline soon.”
Asher rolled his eyes, and a second later, he flung a pillow at Kai’s face. Kai knocked it away, seeming unperturbed.
“So what’s the next question?” I asked.
“What’s your biggest turn-on?” Kai asked
“That’s easy,” I said glibly. “Long walks along the beach and French poetry.”
Landon chuckled. “Would you even recognize French poetry if you heard it?”
“Honestly, no.”
Then, to my shock, Asher uttered a string of fluent French. The rushed but beautiful words flowed for almost a full minute. When he stopped, we were all speechless.
Finally, I asked, “Was that poetry?”
“Nope.” He smirked. “It was the instructions for making bouillabaisse.”
That made us all laugh.
Everything was striking me as funny tonight. Maybe it was the wine or the charged atmosphere. The dim firelight. The warmth of the bodies on either side of me. The way Asher’s dark eyes kept meeting mine across the space. They weren’t friendly, but there was some heat there.
I set my inhibitions firmly on a shelf and turned to Kai. “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done in bed?”
“In bed?” he repeated, his eyes boring into mine.
“During sex,” I clarified, fairly sure he’d pretended to be confused just to get me to say it.
He grinned. “Those are two different questions. Which answer do you want to hear first?”
“Either,” I said recklessly. “Both.”
Kai smirked. “Then buckle up, boys and girls. It’s story time.”
15
ZOE
Though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I headed downstairs to go another round with Asher, following Mrs. Greer’s orders. He still refused to set the New Year’s Eve menu and had brushed off all my suggestions, sometimes quite insultingly. When my phone rang, it felt like a reprieve.
I tried not to take calls during business hours, but if the alternative was more arguments with Asher, the call was the lesser of two evils. To my surprise, it was Peyton.
“Hi,” I said, hurrying down the hallway.
The gym was nearby, but I didn’t want to dart in there. First of all, it reminded me of the things Kai and I had done. And secondly, if there were any guests in there, I didn’t want them to see a staff member on the phone. I finally found a private spot in a hallway that led to rooms with heating and electrical equipment.
“What’s up?”
“I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas,” she said, sounding cheerful.
“Thanks, but that’s next week.”
“I know. Are you coming home?”
“No, I’m doing this internship at a ski resort. I told you that, right?” I could practically picture her waving that off.
“I forgot. So it’s just going to be me and Mom?”
I refrained from reminding her that it had been that way for several years. I’d spent every winter break since I started at Langley studying over the holidays.
“Too bad my boyfriend can’t come,” Peyton said, her voice sounding both young and eager.
Suddenly I understood the reason for her rare phone call.
“Boyfriend?” I asked, as she clearly wanted me to.
“He’s amazing, Zoe. Smart and funny and strong. He’s an engineering student, and guess where he goes to school?”
Oh no. Peyton had a habit of jumping into things headfirst without thinking them through. Last year it had been joining a band that broke up after two weeks. Before that, she’d impulsively gotten a tattoo she now regretted. A boyfriend at Langley could mean anything from a casual fling to her planning their wedding after one date.
“Langley!” she said excitedly, apparently tired of waiting for me to answer.
“How did you meet him?” I said carefully.
“It was a while back. He’s so funny and tall. And my god, his abs. I bet you’ve never seen abs that perfect.”
I closed my eyes briefly, because I was pretty sure I had. I’d seen both of the twins’ taut stomachs when they showed me their piercings, and of course, Asher’s in the sauna. The memory sent an unwelcome flush of heat through me.
“What’s his name?”
“Michael. He treats me so well. I just wanted to share that with you since you never date anyone.”
“Um, thanks? Anyway, I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll call on Christmas Day, okay?”
“Sure. Have fun up there. Where’d you say you were? The mountains? I thought only old people went there. Next winter you have to go someplace with hot guys.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said faintly, and then hung up.