Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Fine.” I’m surrendering all my dignity here. I hope it’s worth it. “We’ll go to your grandma’s party, but if it doesn’t feel right or if I come up against a big dead end, we stop there. I’m not going to force someone to spill their guts to me, and I’m not going to coerce them or fake anything. I’m no good at lying; you know that. And this is your brother. I’m not going to do him dirty the way Tina did.”
“You wouldn’t run off with two hunky, hot, Swedish body-building twins who would spend all day worshipping your body?”
Well, when she puts it that way…I mean, fuck, no! “That’s just wrong.”
“Better saved for book porn, right?”
“Yeah. Not real life.”
Kimmy’s grin is pure feline. “We’re going to rock this, and we’re going to save the company. No one is tearing apart my empire. No one. We’re in it together. Fist bump, bestie. It’s you and me against the world.”
Technically, it’s us against her brother, and this isn’t one of those stories where the dorky kid sister’s best friend grows up into some smoking hot dream machine, the older brother finally notices, falls blissfully and hopelessly for her, and they get their happily ever after. It’s far more likely that this is one of those stories where everything goes from bad to worse and doubly wrong, all served with a side of spandex-wearing grandmother and delicious gravy.
CHAPTER 2
Remi
“Just so we’re straight about this,” Kimmy says under her breath as we walk up the sidewalk to her Nanny’s house. “I think I steered you wrong.”
Oh really? You don’t say. I’m not shocked. She doesn’t mean that she’s calling the whole thing off, just that she’s worried about me. “You’re having a change of heart when it comes to spying on your brother and doing him dirty?”
“Nope. Doing him dirty is your job.”
Christ. I guess I walked right into that one. I’ve been stewing about that ever since it was suggested. I had a dream last night about the new, mature, and aged Van, who I haven’t even seen yet, handcuffing me. In a good way. And then doing some very inventive things to my body right after. I shiver now as bolts of heat rocket through me. I really hope it isn’t showing on my face. I’m worse than an open book, and this is not something I want Kimmy to be able to read off the pages of my expression.
She somehow has this crazy talent of always looking one hundred percent amazing, while I can never get my mousy-colored hair to be anything less than outrageously frizzy. Kimmy’s makeup is glorious. Mine, on the other hand, is already smudged, and the night hasn’t even begun. I’m hell with a mascara wand, and whoever invented lipstick needs to shove that crap up their ass because it never, ever stays put. Kimmy’s little black dress flows effortlessly around her curves, making her waist look even skinnier. She’s all grace in towering heels, whereas I’m two seconds away from falling on my face, and I’m wearing flats. I took forever to decide what to wear before I finally went with a red cotton sundress, the kind that knots just below the bust. But considering it’s strapless, and my bust isn’t exactly ample, that might have been a horrible choice. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that a wardrobe malfunction doesn’t happen halfway through the night. Or at all. I mean at all.
“I think I insinuated things about a possible romance. I got your hopes up.”
I press my lips together hard. “No. Okay, I have to stop you right there. Yes, I had a crush. And yes, it was my first crush. I’ve always had this sentimental feeling about it, but he wasn’t here. He has not replaced my favorite book boyfriends, and I’ve never done a face swap on anyone I’ve ever dated. If I’m hopeless at romance, it’s my own fault, not because I hold this burning torch.”
“Hmm.” Kimmy’s lips purse. “I notice you didn’t add comments about a potential spank bank to the list.”
“Gah! We are not talking about that!”
“You know what your problem is? You’re too inherently honest.” She grabs a tissue out of her purse and grasps my chin with one hand. Since she’s a foot taller by nature and a foot and a half taller in those heels, it’s easy for her to bend and get a good grip on me. She attacks my lipstick, wiping it away. I guess it really was a disaster.
“Then this isn’t going to work.”
“Yes, it will because everyone knows about your honesty problem. They won’t see this one coming. And knowing you, you’ll make it into something charming and endearing. You know why you never get any dates, Remi? It’s because you’re too intimidating. You’re this little alpha female all wrapped up in a five-foot-three, dainty, absolutely gorgeous little package. Guys are scared to come near you because they’re afraid of rejection.”