Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
We all turn toward the end of the long driveway, just as a sleek black Mercedes pulls in.
“Oh, shit,” Garrett blurts, suddenly looking panicked. “Please. I’m begging you. Don’t you dare—”
“We won’t say a word,” I say. “Chill the fuck out, fucktard. I told you. I have no desire to hurt your wife.”
A demure brunette walks up to us, a quizzical look on her face, looking every bit the nice girl Kat described, right down to her sweater set and the large cross around her neck.
“What’s going on, sweetheart?” the woman asks. She nods at Kat and me. “Who are your friends?”
I put out my hand. “Hi, I’m Kevin. And this is my wife, Whitney. Garrett and I went to school together—we played on the golf team together. Whitney and I were visiting a friend in your neighborhood on our way to a benefit gala so we thought we’d pop by and say a quick hello.”
“Oh,” the woman says. “Hello.”
“I was excited to tell Garrett about our little bun in the oven.” I pat Kat’s stomach.
An unmistakable shadow passes across the woman’s face. “Oh, congratulations. How wonderful. When are you due?”
“Early December,” Kat says quietly, clearly picking up on the shift in the woman’s demeanor.
There’s an awkward beat.
“Oh, gosh. Where are my manners?” the woman says. She extends her hand and shoots daggers at Garrett, clearly chastising him for failing to introduce her. “I’m Maggie Bennett, Garrett’s wife. I don’t think we’ve met before?”
“We haven’t,” I say, shaking her hand. “I was a senior when Garrett was a sophomore, so our paths didn’t cross for long. Lovely to meet you, Maggie.”
“Would you like to come inside?” she asks. “I baked brownies today.”
“No, thank you. Whitney and I have that gala to attend. We just wanted to stop by and say a quick hello and, you know, reminisce about old times for a minute.” I shake Garrett’s hand. “Great to see you again, buddy. Like I was saying, man, I owe you big. Huge. I’ll never forget the favor you did for me. Thanks again.”
“Oh my goodness,” Maggie says, putting her hand on her heart. “What on earth did Garrett do for you?”
“Oh. He gave me some life-changing advice,” I say.
“Life-changing advice? Really? What was it if you don’t mind me asking?” She looks at her husband like he’s got three eyes.
“I don’t mind at all,” I say. “Garrett told me, ‘When you find The One, hold onto her and never let her go. Because all great happiness in a man’s life comes from finding his one true love. I should know.’”
“Wow,” Maggie says, obviously completely shocked. “Garrett told you that? My Garrett?”
“He sure did.”
Kat pats Maggie’s shoulder like she’s petting a German Shepherd. “It was so nice to meet you, Maggie. Garrett was just telling us how wonderful you are—and now I see what he was talking about.”
“He was?” Maggie says, seemingly dazed.
“Bye, Garrett,” Kat says. “Thank you so much for what you did for Kevin. It sure worked out well for me.”
Garrett shifts his weight.
“Well,” I say, “I guess I’d better tell my buddy we’re on our way—he’s waiting for us at the gala. Excuse me.” I pull out my phone and text Henn: “I bagged the babe. She said YES. Fuck yeah! Exit The Asshole’s system now.”
“Congratulations!” Henn writes back. “I’ll leave without a trace.”
I look up at Garrett. “Okay, my buddy says he’s gonna quit working now.” I look at Maggie. “A mutual friend of ours from school. Great guy. A computer specialist. He says he’s leaving work right now to meet us at the gala.”
There’s a very awkward silence. Clearly, Maggie doesn’t know why the fuck I’m telling her this bit of information.
“Okay,” she says awkwardly.
“Well, we’ve definitely taken up enough of your time,” I say, grabbing Kat’s hand and pulling her toward the limo. “Come on, Whitney—time to party, honey.” I kiss Kat’s cheek. “Have I ever told you you’re really fun?”
Kat giggles. “Yes, you have.”
“Well, you are. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s one of the greatest qualities any man could ever ask for in a wife.”
Thirty-Nine
Kat
I lean back from the table as our private butler clears our plates from dinner and then disappears through French doors leading back into our suite.
“Are you chilly?” Josh asks. He stands, obviously intending to remove his tuxedo jacket for me.
“No. I’m good. It’s still pretty nice out. Great idea to eat out here on the patio.”
“I wanted to take full advantage of the view in the moonlight.”
I look out at the dark Pacific Ocean glimmering in the moonlight beyond the cliffs. “Yeah, this view is absolutely spectacular.”
“I was talking about you.”
“Aw.” I bat my eyelashes. “Sweet-talker.”
“You really are gorgeous, Kat. You take my breath away.”
“I guess complete happiness looks good on me, huh?”
“You sure you’re not cold?” Josh asks. “It’s getting a bit chilly out here. I don’t want you to catch cold.”