Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I just thought you should know,” he heard her say jerkily without meeting his gaze. “I’ve changed lawyers.”
Marcus stilled.
“Fredericka’s agreed to work on my divorce case, so...things should progress more quickly from here on.”
Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!
Anneke slowly looked up. “I hope you don’t mind?”
“No. Of course not.” Marcus didn’t miss a beat even as his mind furiously worked on calculations and strategies. Fredericka Spears’ involvement trashed his entire timetable in an instant, and he knew he had to move far more quickly now. Anneke’s Russian friend was too damn good an attorney. It would only be a matter of time before the other woman won a case for Anneke—-
And he couldn’t let that happen.
As soon as the film ended and credits started rolling, he turned to Anneke, asking, “Did you like the film?”
“I...umm...yes.” She bit her lip hard. Was that really all he was going to say? But then, what else did she want him to say? The divorce wasn’t supposed to be a big deal since they were friends.
But – if they were just friends, why had he kissed her in the first place?
“I’m glad you liked the movie,” Marcus was telling her as they headed out of the theater and waited for his limo to come around. “I’m already halfway convinced to back their next film.”
“O-oh?” She knew she should get her head back in the game, but she couldn’t. Her head was still spinning from all the conflicting thoughts that were going through her mind, and the way her heart was aching and beating hard at the same time only made her confusion deepen.
“It’s a war film.” The limo arrived as Marcus was speaking, and when he touched the small of her back to walk her to the car, Anneke did her best not to draw her breath while her entire body tingled.
Crap. This was just pure crap. Why was she feeling more sensitive than usual around him? Was it because of the frustration running through her blood, the part of her that couldn’t understand why she wasn’t happy about Marcus not minding their divorce was all but finalized?
“War films are normally costly...” Marcus resumed their conversation as soon as they were inside his limousine. “But they’re projecting they only need ten mil to wrap up the whole thing.”
“I see.” But she didn’t. She didn’t see it at all, actually, because right now her mind was caught up in other things.
Marcus’ gaze narrowed once more at Anneke’s unreadable tone. He had been hoping to use this opportunity to invite her to accompany him to take a look at the location of the next project. It would require a three-day trip to the Bahamas, and he was hoping that would be enough to make his next move. But with Anneke being so damn closed off right now, Marcus found himself hesitating – what if he did invite her, and it turned out to be another thing he was pushing her too hard and too fast on?
“Anneke...”
Her heart squeezed. He used to call her ‘bambina’ all the time, she couldn’t help thinking, but now she was always Anneke. Now, she was just Anneke because they were just friends.
When they reached her hotel, Marcus offered to walk her up to her room, never mind if she usually said no to his offer.
But this time it was different.
She told him yes, and even thanked him for the offer, which left him all the warier. Something was definitely up, he thought broodingly. The only question was whether the unusual change in Anneke’s behavior counted as good or bad.
When they reached her suite, Anneke slid the key into the card slot just as she heard herself say, “About the next film...”
Marcus stiffened. If she turned him down—-
“Perhaps we could discuss it inside?”
His head snapped towards her as her words detonated like a bomb between them. Tension rocketed in a blink of an eye as he tried to make sense of what she was really asking. Her voice had been unusually husky when she had uttered her invitation, but could he truly read anything into that?
He stared hard at her, expecting her to look away, but she didn’t.
She only gazed back at him and when he saw her tongue dart out to wet her lips—-
Accidenti.
Need burst inside him, and he sucked in his breath. “I think I better go,” he said roughly.
The unexpected rejection had Anneke swallowing back a cry of disappointment. She knew she shouldn’t mind, but she did. “Don’t you want to discuss their next film now?”
“I do.” Marcus’ tone was taut. “But tonight is no good.”
And it was then she saw the way desire was burning so brightly in his eyes.
Oh.
“I can’t trust myself to be alone with you right now,” Marcus gritted out. “I hope you understand.”
“I do.” Her tone was tremulous. “But I still insist.”