Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
She glanced over to the kitchen table, where Derek was pouring them each a glass of red wine.
“You cheated,” she accused playfully.
“Trust me,” he drawled as his gaze slowly flickered down, then back up her body. “I figured it was more important to feed you something edible than make you suffer with my awful cooking.” He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit.
She slid into the chair and grinned at him as he settled into the seat next to hers. “Not much of a chef, huh?”
“Not one of my finer talents.” He grinned wickedly, leaving her to wonder about those other superior talents. “I mean, I can do the basics, but no one does chicken marsala like Nonna Vittoria, so why even try and compete with that?”
“Good point,” she agreed.
As he plated her food, and she took a moment to appreciate the chicken breast smothered in mushrooms that had been sauteed in marsala wine and cream sauce. It looked and smelled delicious. “I love that you ordered something rustic and authentic, instead of from one of those fancy fusion places that are popping up all over the city.”
“I’m a traditional guy. I like my food authentic.” He smiled and raised his wineglass toward her, and she did the same, clicking the rim to his in a toast. “Enjoy, but make sure you save room for dessert.”
“I always save room for dessert,” she said, pleased that he hadn’t skimped on that part of the meal.
They ate quietly for a few minutes, and she thought back to the auction and how panicked he’d looked when Claire bid on him. Jessica was still curious about his reaction. Besides, she’d always found it difficult to reconcile his relationship and engagement to Claire in her mind.
She never would have paired them as a couple. Derek was kind and thoughtful and caring—she’d seen those traits in the way he treated his sister, Nikki. Claire was . . . all about herself. Selfish, pretentious, and disingenuous. The match, from the beginning, had struck Jessica as unexpected. Sure, there was that saying that opposites attract, but not to those kinds of extremes.
“So . . . do you mind if I ask you a personal question, about Claire?”
He stiffened ever so slightly, then covered it up with a shrug. “Not my favorite topic, but sure. What would you like to know?”
“I know this is probably going to come off as rude, but what did you see in Claire to make you want to date her, then propose to her?”
He huffed out a laugh as he cut a slice of the chicken breast. “Ahh, going right for the jugular, huh?”
She heard the self-deprecation in his voice and quickly gave him a way out. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s okay.” He eyed her speculatively. “I know you went to high school with Claire, but have you known her very well since then?”
Jessica swallowed the bite she’d just taken, trying not to choke on the piece of meat as it went down. “Umm, no.” She hadn’t told him that Claire had been one of the mean girls at that summer party they’d talked about earlier, or her nemesis in high school. This conversation wasn’t about Jessica’s relationship with Claire but Derek’s, and she didn’t want to mix the two. “We didn’t and don’t run in the same social circles.”
“Probably a good thing that you didn’t know her well,” he said ruefully, right before he took a long drink of his wine, probably for fortitude. “I knew of Claire because my parents are friends with her mother and father, and my mother had nothing but wonderful, flattering things to say about her. Actually, her father is one of my father’s political donors, and now that I’m able to take a huge step back from the situation and see it more objectively, I know my mother and hers were manipulating me because they were hoping to merge the families.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Isn’t that a bit antiquated?”
He laughed. “Yes. But it still happens between rich and powerful families, and I honestly didn’t realize what was going on. At the time, I was wrapped up in negotiations for Blackout Media to purchase a digital platform, so I was just going through the motions with Claire . . . dating her because it was expected, taking her to events as my plus-one, showing up to family events with her on my arm because it was easier than dealing with my mother’s twenty questions about my feelings for Claire. I was really more focused on work and expanding our media outlets, and I kind of just fell into the relationship, and doing things with Claire just became a habit because it was easy, if that makes sense?”