Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
My questioning whether I could let Hannah go to Knight Investment Group. It seems a little too magnanimous for such a selfish son of a bitch.
The best thing would be to cut Hannah loose tonight. We’ll part as friends, and I can feel proud about my good deeds. I can move on… probably even hit the Wicked Horse tonight and get laid.
For the first time in forever, the thought of going to the club has no appeal to me whatsoever.
I ponder it all as we move from house to house. Hannah eventually lets Hope go up on her own while we wait out on the sidewalk. Her phone stays out, and she has probably taken a million pictures of her daughter already.
She’s snapping more as we watch Hope walk up to another door.
“Are you okay?” she unexpectedly asks me, and I jolt.
“Yeah… why?” I ask in surprise.
“You’re just really quiet. I don’t know… you seem to be struggling with something.”
Hannah puts her phone in her pocket before facing me. She moves in closer, her eyebrows pulling in with concern.
Christ, she’s beautiful. More so than any other woman I’ve ever known. It’s an inside-and-out sort of beauty, and the thought of not seeing her anymore causes my gut to tighten painfully.
“No,” I say after clearing my throat. I give her a reassuring smile. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”
“What’s that?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.
Might as well just fucking go for it.
“My sister puts on this charity gala, and it’s in a few weeks. My mom used to do it and well, Christina has taken up the helm on the project. Would you like to go as my date?”
Hannah just stares at me, obvious confusion written on her face. “Date?”
“You heard me correctly,” I say with a smirk, thinking she’s so cute right now and it’s going to suck not to be able to fuck her tonight.
Hannah worries at her lip with her teeth a moment before she blinds me with a smile. “Okay. But what do I wear? And I need to know when, since I’ll need to find a sitter for Hope. Or maybe her dad can take her for the night.”
She goes on and on about it, and I assure her that I’ll help her with a dress and we’ll get everything sorted. We continue to walk from house to house, letting Hope fill her bucket with candy. Out of the blue, Hannah slips her arm through mine as we stroll.
My reflex isn’t to push her away. Rather, I instinctually pull her in closer to me.
So this evening isn’t ending like I had originally planned, but I think I’m okay with that.
CHAPTER 22
Hannah
I knock on Asher’s office door, then wait for him to invite me in. Even though he met me at the front door of his apartment this morning when I arrived, and promptly dragged me back to his bedroom for some wild monkey sex, I would never think it’s my place to enter one of his rooms with a closed door.
Particularly his office where I know he’s doing important things as the CEO of Knight Investment Group.
“You can come in,” he calls out genially, and I open the door to stick my head in.
His smile is breathtaking when he sees me. More beautiful now because he smiles at me in a different way.
It’s still just as knowing, but there’s a softness to it that he’s never shown me before.
“I’m done with everything else except your office,” I say hesitantly. “I don’t want to disturb you, though.”
“Your presence in my home disturbs me every minute you’re here,” he drawls, and my heart plummets over his harsh words. “I can’t think straight when I know you’re just in the next room over and I could be fucking you.”
My eyes go wide, and I swallow hard.
“But,” he says with a slow grin curving upward. “That’s my problem, not yours. So please… have at it.”
He sweeps his arm to show I can come in and attack the interior. I enter the room fully, leaving the door open. I have a carrying bucket with my cleaning supplies, and I pull out my feather duster to start on his custom-built shelves that line the wall behind his desk.
He has a rolling library ladder I use to get to the top shelf. I methodically make my way down the units, getting closer to where he sits. His desk is placed in the middle of the room and his chair is between it and the shelves. I’m going to have to work my way around him, or demand he get out of my way, which is probably the better way.
When I cast a glance at him, I find him lewdly watching me, his eyes pinned on my ass as I bend over to hit a bottom shelf.