Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
When I glance over my shoulder toward the bar, Alec winks at me. I take a sip of champagne.
Rose pulls me to a cocktail table near the lake and slings her arm around a petite Asian woman with streaks of white in her dark hair. “Caroline,” Rose says, “this is Alec’s Savvy.”
Alec’s Savvy. I wish I didn’t like the sound of that so much.
“I’m so excited to finally meet you,” Caroline says. “I was there the day Alec came home from Vegas. He couldn’t stop talking about you.”
Again with the stomach flipping. I want to dig for more information, but it doesn’t seem right. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“I see you survived your introduction to Cruella de Vil,” Caroline says with a smirk. “On a scale of one to ten, how Wicked Witch of the West was she today?”
Rose coughs like she’s choking on a stifled laugh. “She was a solid five.”
“That was only a five?” I blurt before I can stop myself, and both girls burst into loud giggles that make everyone else on the patio turn and stare.
“Oh, yeah.” Caroline lowers her voice further. “I like to call her Cruella, but we think she might actually be Satan.”
Rose fights a smile, but it wins. “Alec is pretty protective of her, though.”
“Of course he is. He’s Alec,” Caroline says. “He sees the best in people.”
“Most of the time,” Rose says.
Caroline peeks over my shoulder to study the man in question. “He’s, like, the most eligible bachelor in our parents’ circles, and it’s totally warranted. Not only is he hot and successful, he’s a complete teddy bear.”
“Caroline has known Alec since high school,” Rose explains. “He’s three years older than me, and I had to figure out the hard way that the girls always wanted to come over when they knew he’d be home.”
I have to laugh. “I can totally see all the high school girls falling head over heels for Alec.”
“Not as badly as we fell for Oliver,” Caroline croons.
I stiffen at his name. I wondered if he’d come up tonight and tried to brace myself for it, but it still feels like two very different worlds colliding.
“Don’t remind me,” Rose says. She turns to me. “Ever walked onto a beach carrying a basket of fries and found yourself surrounded by begging seagulls? That’s how it felt to have my friends over when Oliver was around.”
Caroline waves a finger at her. “Until your mom convinced all our moms that their daughters couldn’t be trusted around him, and then we were forbidden from sleepovers until he left for college. I swear, Cheryl had our moms convinced he’d somehow impregnate us all.”
I flinch. “That’s awful.”
Rose rolls her eyes. “It is, but that’s very on brand for Cheryl.”
“Especially when it comes to Oliver,” Caroline says.
“And anyway,” Rose says, “she was wrong. Oliver didn’t want anything to do with the girls in L.A. He was counting down the days until he could get out of there.”
“How often does he come back?” I ask, one foot testing the ice. Shut up, shut up, shut up!
“When he was in college, you couldn’t drag him home,” Rose says. “But since Mom’s moved out of Grandmother’s house, he’ll come a couple times a year to visit with me.”
“Don’t worry,” Caroline says, as if reading the distress on my face. “Oliver won’t be showing up to the wedding and making waves. He loves Rose too much to bring any drama to her special day.”
Rose frowns. “He’s not the one who’d bring the drama,” she mutters, cutting her eyes to the back of the patio where her mother has reappeared and seems to be arguing with a server.
“Yeah, but what are you going to do?” Caroline says with a sigh. “Disinvite your mom to your own wedding just so your brother can be there?”
Rose tilts her head from side to side with an expression that says she’d consider it, and both girls erupt into more laughter.
“What’s so funny over here?” someone asks, stepping up behind Rose and sliding his arms around her waist. It’s the guy who pulled Alec away earlier. The groom. He’s at least a foot taller than Rose, with eyes that light up when he looks at his bride. He presses a kiss to the crook of her neck, and Rose smiles.
“Savvy, this is my fiancé, Jared. Jared, this is Alec’s girlfriend, Savvy.”
He releases his fiancée to offer me a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Rose said Alec was bringing his mystery girl.”
“That’s me,” I say, and there’s an underlying squeak to my voice. I am a terrible liar.
“We were just talking about why Oliver won’t be at the wedding,” Rose tells her fiancé.
Jared frowns and sighs. “It sucks, but what family doesn’t have its complications, right?”
“Oliver invited us for a weekend on his boat after the honeymoon,” Rose says. “We’ll celebrate with him then.” She’s smiling, but again, I feel like her light’s been dimmed.