Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
To any onlooker, it would appear as a loving gesture. A man reaching across the dinner table, but the pain went up her wrist. She didn’t want to make a scene, but she gritted her teeth and felt the tears spring to her eyes.
“You’re mine now and you’re going—”
“Well, well, well, fancy meeting you two lovebirds here,” Savage said.
The hand at her wrist loosened immediately. She figured Andy was letting her go as they had been interrupted. However, shoving her hand beneath the table, she looked across to see Savage standing close to Andy, but he also had an incredibly tight grip on his shoulder. Again, to any onlooker, they appeared to be good friends, but she saw the pain pinching at the corners of Andy’s lips.
She didn’t feel any remorse.
“I don’t know what just happened there,” Savage said, letting Andy go and slapping him on the back. “But I have to wonder what it’s about.” He grabbed a chair at another table and took a seat. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. You two seemed to be having a rough time with conversation, and, well, I can fill a silent room. Charlotte, are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Does your wrist hurt?” Savage asked.
It was still pulsing, and she had a sneaking suspicion it was going to be bruised.
“It’s, uh, it’s—”
“The truth, sweetheart. That is all I ask.”
“Look, you have got this all wrong,” Andy cried out. She wasn’t sure what happened as Savage had moved so fast, but all of a sudden, Andy’s nose was bleeding.
A couple of waiters came over to the table.
“Well, look at that,” Savage said. “Charlotte, be a doll and give these guys a big tip for their trouble, while I escort this man out.”
She didn’t argue and reached into her purse. There had been no wine, just a little water consumed, and no food ordered. She apologized and quickly let herself out. As she did so, she was there to see Andy pulling out of the parking space, and the dust as he drove off without her.
“That was my ride,” she said, slumping her shoulders.
“I’ll take you home.”
She groaned. “No, Mom’s going to be up and waiting. I don’t want to go home, because this was a disaster.”
Savage reached for her wrist, holding it up. She tried to pull it away from him, but he glared at her, and she rolled her eyes.
“It’s fine. Honestly, it is not that bad.”
“Not that bad, it is already starting to bruise. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t do anything, but it was so strange. Before he could even say anything, you were there. It was like he was forced to go on that date with me.” She shrugged and attempted to pull her wrist away. “I don’t get it.”
“I’ll take you back to my place,” Savage said.
She knew it shouldn’t happen, but she did get a little thrill knowing they were going back to his place.
It was wrong, because nothing was going to happen. They were friends. Savage didn’t see her that way.
“I’ve got to ride on the back of your bike?” she asked.
Savage shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it across her shoulders.
“I’ll go slow.”
****
Savage could have quite easily killed tonight, and done so in front of Charlotte. The look on her face would stay with him for a long time. He’d gotten a seat at the bar, and all it had taken was a nice, juicy tip for the maître d’ to get him to tell Savage where Andy and Charlotte were going to be seated. One big tip. He didn’t expect to see the confusion on Charlotte’s face, or the sadness.
Arriving at his apartment, neither of them said a word as they traveled the elevator to his floor, then stepped off.
He let them both in, and Charlotte was still wearing his leather jacket. The moment they were inside his apartment, she kicked off her heels and let out a moan. “That feels so good. I don’t know why my mom insisted on me wearing heels.” She closed her eyes.
Savage chuckled. “What do you want? A beer? Water? Coffee?”
“Would it sound childish if I said hot chocolate?” she asked.
“I don’t have hot chocolate.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you do.” She put her hands on his shoulders, giving them a squeeze, as she brushed past him and went immediately to one of his kitchen cabinets. She opened it up, and much to his surprise, inside were several boxes of hot chocolate bombes. “I might have gone shopping. You have beer, which is gross. Water is good, and coffee, but what about those times when you need hot chocolate and ice cream?”
She went to his freezer and pulled out a carton of vanilla ice cream. “See?”
“Wow,” he said.
“So, Savage, do you want to try one of my hot chocolate bombes?” she asked.