Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Seriously?” he asks, his eyes brightening.
“Grandma makes the best biscuits,” Olive boasts, since they’re her favorite. “There’s soup, too, but those biscuits are the best.”
Robby shrugs. “I can’t say no to any of that.”
He rushes past me with my bags in his hands and Olive on his heel. They both disappear into my townhouse behind Martha.
Bruce smiles down at me. “We missed you, sweetie, but I’m glad you had a break.”
“Me too.” I rush up toward his open arms.
Bruce gives the best hugs. He’s a large man with bushy brown eyebrows and a crooked smile.
“Our girl had a great weekend, too,” he whispers. “Thank you for letting us take her, Greer. Thank you for letting us love her.”
A tear falls down my cheek as I look up and into his face. “Thank you for loving us both.”
“We always will,” he assures me with a tight hug. “We’re family. Nothing on this earth can ever change that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Holden
“You’ve been wearing your glasses full time for weeks now,” my brother points out as he walks into my office, dressed like he’s heading to a football game.
He’s sporting a baseball jersey that his wife gave him shortly after she gave birth. Sinclair thought it would be funny to purchase the blue and red accented jersey with the word “Daddy” printed on the back, along with a bright red #1.
I’ve been out on the streets of Manhattan with James when he’s been wearing the jersey, and the curious looks and propositions he’s been getting from women and a few men have brought some joy to my life I didn’t realize I needed.
“It’s been two weeks,” I correct him, since that’s when I came back from East Hampton after spending the weekend with Summer.
He picks up a pencil from my desk and taps the point against his palm. “Did you run your supply of contact lenses dry? Do you need bifocals, old man?”
A rush of hearty laughter falls from between my lips. “Fuck you.”
“You will always be older than me, Holden.” He scribbles a circle on the top of a pad of paper that I never use. “Hence, you’re an old man compared to me.”
I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose. “I have more than enough contact lenses, and my prescription is spot on. I just like wearing the glasses.”
The truth is, they remind me of Summer. I’ve thought about her countless times since we said goodbye.
I have no doubt that a call to Mrs. Frye would end with me having Summer’s real first name. I pay Mrs. Frye handsomely to watch over my Hampton house when I’m not around, but beyond that, we’re friends.
The reason I haven’t taken that step is that Summer made it clear that the one weekend was all she wanted. Tracking her down in the ‘real world’ isn’t going to happen.
I may not know her well, but I respect the hell out of her boundaries.
“Are you going to your meeting dressed like that?” I ask my brother before I turn my attention back to the screen of my laptop.
I’ve been running sales numbers on some of the new products we launched last quarter. I can already tell what needs to be cut from production.
“I’m meeting my wife and son for lunch.” He shakes his head. “For some reason, known only to Sinclair, she asked me to invite you.”
I push back from my desk and stand. “She knows how much her son loves his uncle.”
“Morgan loves his daddy the most.” Jameson jerks a thumb behind him. “My shirt confirms I’m the number one daddy in the world.”
“Your shirt is fucking hilarious.” I scoop up my phone and tuck it into the inner pocket of my suit jacket. “You’re changing out of that before your meeting this afternoon.”
“Why?” He shrugs. “The owner of Sweet Indulgence will get a kick out of it.”
I’ll take his word for it because all I know about the company he’s trying to acquire is that it’s a small operation renting an expensive storefront in Chelsea. According to Jameson, the owner claims they are bleeding money, and she wants a deal in place as soon as possible so she can leave that chapter of her life and Manhattan behind for Los Angeles.
I won’t get involved until Jameson is certain this company has the potential to generate revenue for us if we take it on.
“Whatever works.” I grin. “Let’s go see our boy.”
A slow smile spreads over his lips as his blue eyes lock on mine. “You know that I love that you love my son as much as you do, right?”
I brush past him to head toward my open office door. “I know, James.”
“When you have a kid, I’ll love them, too,” he says. “You’re going to be a great dad one day, Holden.”
That hits me hard. I turn back to face him. “Thanks.”