Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19627 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 79(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Nova's eyes widen.
"Hemayormaynothavetoldhimthathelovesme," I say all at once.
"What?"
"He mayonnaise shlonged you?" Seraphina furrows her brows. "What does that even mean?"
"Mayonnaise shlonged? What the fuck?" Nova cracks up. "That is not what she said."
"It's what I heard."
"I said that he may or may not have said that he loves me," I growl. My dad didn't even freak out about it. He just asked if Royce was taking care of me, told me that he was proud of me, and then changed the subject.
"Oh." Seraphina squeaks. "Oh! Holy crap."
"Of course he does," Ava says as if that's a foregone conclusion. "The more pressing question is what you said because we know you, Emelia."
"What does that mean?" I protest.
All three of them share a look.
"It means," Seraphina says gently, "that the thought of falling for an athlete gives you hives. You've spent your whole life surrounded by them. You made a career out of saving the careers of some of the most incorrigible of them. But you never, ever let yourself get too close because you're absolutely convinced that good ones like your dad are the exception and not the rule."
"That's because they are," I mutter.
"That's not true," Ava protests. "Royce is one of the good ones." Her cheeks turn pink in a way that has me curious as hell about what happened at their dinner. She's been suspiciously silent on the subject of her stepbrother lately. Like…suspiciously silent. "Dawson is one of the good ones. Even if Seraphina and Nova don't want to admit it, so are Huxley and Stone."
"Speak for yourself," Nova mutters.
Seraphina adds a savage nod, though I'm not sure if she's agreeing with Nova or Ava.
"The point is," Ava says, glaring at our friends, "not all athletes are assholes who like to stick it in every willing hole. I know you clean up after a lot of the ones who are, but you can't paint all of them with the same brush, Em. That's not fair, especially not to Royce."
"He's never linked with anyone," Seraphina murmurs. "Not even a hint of gossip."
"I know," I groan, burying my face in my hands. "I just…"
"What? What are you so afraid of?" Nova asks.
"What if it doesn't work out?" I ask, peeking through a slit in my fingers. "What if he decides it was fun while it lasted, but that's all he wants? I'm not built for that."
I want what my parents have. That's what I've been searching for my entire life. And I've adamantly refused to look with clients because I know how often they're looking for everything except a future. I don't want to be one of many, especially not for Royce.
"You're in love with him."
I don't say anything, which seems to be enough of an answer for the three of them. Ava lets out a muted squeal, reaching out to pry my hands away from my face.
"I'm so screwed," I whisper. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Last weekend would like to disagree," Nova says, grinning at me.
I flick a piece of ice at her, earning a giggle.
"What are you going to do?" Seraphina asks, cocking her head to the side.
I shrug, staring down at the water ring on the chipped table. "I guess…tell him? I mean, I have to tell him, right?"
"Duh!" Ava cries.
"Fine. I'll tell him." I narrow my eyes on the three of them. "But if he breaks my heart, I'm blaming the three of you."
"And if he doesn't, we're playing rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to be the Maid of Honor at your wedding."
"Goddamn kid's games," I groan, earning laughter from all three of them.
By the time four o'clock rolls around, I'm hard at work trying to craft a press release for Santiago Devlin. I swear, working for Teo Kirby was almost a cakewalk compared to working for that man. Every week, it's a new scandal, and none of them are ever easy.
It's like he's hellbent on destroying his career or something. Why? Don't ask me. He's a darn vault of secrets.
"Damn," Royce whistles from the doorway. "My baby looks good when she's in business mode."
I glance up, unable to hide the smile on my face. I swear, he's so outrageous. I love it far more than I should.
"Speaking of business mode," I say, dodging him when he tries to kiss me, "we need to talk."
"Fine," he growls, shoving the door closed. "You have two minutes, and then business mode ends, and I'm kissing the fuck out of you."
"I only need one."
"Wanna put that to the test?" he asks, waggling his brows. "Because I'm down to make you come in sixty seconds."
"No." I pause. "Well, yes. But wait."
He grins at me, leaning back against the door with his hands in his pockets. "The clock is ticking, pretty baby."
"No pet names when we're in business mode, Royce."
"Fine, the clock is ticking, Miss Jónsson."