Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“I’m not upset with you. I’m not even angry. Not any longer, at least. Do I want to throat-punch my brother for putting both of us in this situation? Yes. I’m also thankful it was me you were sent to as a birthday present instead of someone who could have hurt you.” He cups my cheek, pulling my eyes away from where we’d be connected, flesh to flesh, if we didn’t have clothes on.
“Wait a minute. When is your birthday?” I ask. When the so-called date was set up, it didn’t state what it would be for. Obviously, not the sexual favors part or anything else.
“Today, which is why you’re staying here. I’m going to make a few phone calls while you eat breakfast, then we’re going to wrap this conversation up for good and start over.” In one swift movement, he is standing, my legs wrap around his waist, and we’re moving, well, he is, really, walking us towards the kitchen while I’m left reeling from his statement. Unsure how to respond or if I really want to. It’d be stupid to put a halt to all this, the way my body reacts to his, the way he can be hard and unpleasant at times but softens to listen to me. God help me, because I really think I might be falling for Santiago Martinez all in a matter of a day.
SEVENTEEN
Santiago
It took a lot of self-control, too much, actually, which is why I’m a live wire, ready to burn the candle at both ends to see who’s at fault for the situation Cadence is in. She may not have understood the look that bitch Leah had on her face, or the way Cadence was asked to go out with two of them. I’d bet my last billion dollars that Leah was after something more than Doctor Manning was giving her. Not only that, but this Rachel character is about to be put out of business effective immediately. I may not get my hands dirty in the under-workings of California; that doesn’t mean I don’t have any connections.
“What did the eggs ever do to you?” Cadence asks. I’m so lost in my thoughts of who I’m going to take down that I didn’t even ask her how she’d like her eggs after I sat her down on the barstool.
“Fuck, I should have asked. How do you like them cooked?” I ignore her question. Taking out violence on eggs when I’m wishing it were a few other people is better than showing Cadence my anger.
“How about I cook, drag the barstool over by the stove, then you can go do your macho man thing?” It’s not a bad idea, and it would get things taken care of quicker.
“No, you need to rest. This will give me time to calm down, too. Eggs?”
“Scrambled with cheese, please. At least let me butter the toast. All you have to do is slide a plate over. I can grab the rest from where I’m sitting.” She makes a hand gesture, showing how it’s done.
“Fine. Tell me about this business you’re starting?” I’ll make it my life’s work to make sure Rachel pays her the fee, even if we didn’t actually go out on a date. How the fuck is she supposed to know the difference? Not like Alejandro has the balls to go against me, not after the tongue-lashing our parents will surely give him tomorrow at our Christmas Eve dinner.
“It’s still early. I’m working on hiring a website designer. It’s kind of simple, honestly. Nothing like the elaborate career you have.”
“Cadence.” My tone is admonishing, annoyed that she’d think I would belittle her career. I don’t care if someone aspires to be a janitor if that’s what they want in life. A job is a job. Liking it is an added bonus. I’m not going to judge, which makes me an absolute dick because that’s exactly what I was doing with Cadence when Alejandro announced where she came from. It was purely selfish reasons, it still fucking is, but since I haven’t asked for forgiveness or apologized, she has a reason to be apprehensive. “I’m not ridiculing your up-and-coming business. I owe you an apology for my behavior. I judged when I shouldn’t have, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you believe that, okay?”
“Apology accepted. We were both put in a weird position. Can we, um, start over?” She holds her hand out to shake mine.
“Thank you, and no.” She looks defeated as I tell her no. I turn off the burner and slide the skillet to the back of the stove.
“Oh, okay, then can I please borrow your phone? There are only so many hits a woman can take to her ego before there’s not much left to give.” Cadence is off on her own little tangent, so she doesn’t realize I’m making my way towards her. My hand cups her cheek, being mindful not to hurt her even more.