Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Wills pinches the bridge of her nose. “How people perceive you and how they perceive me is very, very different. I don’t have the luxury of a double standard that works in my favor like you do.”
“How so?”
“You can date whoever you want, and no one will pass judgment on you—except maybe to question why you ended up with someone like me when you could be dating a supermodel if you want.”
“You’re gorgeous.” She sees herself in the mirror. She has to know this.
She rolls her eyes. She does that a lot with me. Willy props one fist on her hip. “How I look isn’t the biggest issue, Dallas. I’m the team PR person, and you’re a player. My salary and yours are highly discordant. You make millions a year, and I do not. I look like I got in bed with a player so I can skip my way down Easy Street. People will speculate, and it won’t be in my favor. What you did yesterday goes against everything I’m trained to do. You created a shitstorm for me, so thanks. We also can’t break up for a while or I risk even more damage to my reputation. And now I have no choice but to be your goddamn date to the reunion.” She’s back to getting in my face.
I wish my body’s reaction wasn’t to get instantly hard when she puts me in my place like this. She’s a force, and I’m obsessed with her. It’s not a new thing, but it has grown over the past few years since she came back into my life. I’m always game for whatever charity promo ops she has in the down months because it gives me a reason to see her. My infatuation verges on masochistic. I can’t stay away from her, even though she hates me, and rightly so. Even when I wasn’t an active participant in her torment when we were growing up, I didn’t do enough to stop it. Not until it was too late. I can make up for all of it now, though. “I’ll be an awesome date. The best date you’ve ever had.”
She practically snarls at me. “Going alone would have been preferable than going with you. I refuse to be the butt of yet another one of your shitty childish jokes.”
Looking at her now, I see the little girl kids made fun of, the outspoken preteen who didn’t back down in the face of torment, and the teenager who held her head high even when it was hard. I didn’t stand up for her the way I should have then. I was too fixated on fitting in, on being on top. But it got lonely up there. No one was real with me. Except Wills. Always Wills. “I promise I won’t fuck you over.”
“Like I trust you.”
“Let me prove that I can be exactly what you need. You want me to be the overly affectionate, doting boyfriend? I’m in. I’ll keep you safe from Sean and Brooklyn.”
She scoffs. “Like you kept me safe from you?”
“Wills…” I reach out, but she knocks my arm away and gives me a look that should have me six feet underground. It’s the same one she gives me when I try to say anything that remotely resembles an apology. I hold my hands up in supplication, trying to find a way to appeal to the girl I broke all those years ago. “Let me be your wingman. For all the times you’ve saved my ass. Let me pay you back for—”
Her eyes flash.
I want to tell her how sorry I am. How I wish I could take every little thing I ever did back. When we first started working together, I tried often, but she always shut me down. So I stopped, not wanting her to think it was all lip service. She has never had a reason to believe I would be sincere. It seems she’s still not ready for the truth. Not yet. Not now. I can see why she might not trust what I have to say. “We’ll steal the show,” I promise.
When her eyes come back to mine, I see the damage that was done when we were kids, how it sits inside her beautiful heart and weighs it down with hurt. And I let so much of it happen. I didn’t save her every time I could have—should have. But I can now.
“How stupid do you think I am, Dallas?”
“You’re brilliant, Wilhelmina.” And I mean it. “You’re the smartest woman I know.”
“You’ll just embarrass me again,” she snaps, but there’s a waver in her voice and a wobble in her chin.
I want to run myself over with a truck made entirely of cactuses. “I won’t. I promise. I will be a kickass date. I look great in a suit.”