Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
I wanted to be the kind of woman who was confident enough to wander the halls of a hotel (even short halls, like the ones at this hotel) in boxer shorts and an oversized tee, but alas, I was not.
I felt weird just being barefoot, even if Dair was too, and now, so was Davina.
“Thank the Lord, coffee and food,” she said before she came forward and all but fell on the coffee table.
We all watched as she piled as much food on her plate as both Dair and I had on ours, combined, and sat in the other armchair with the coffee cup tucked between her knees and the plate close to her face.
She looked to me after she noshed on some bacon. “I hate ye. How are ye glamorous after last night?” and she munched more bacon.
“I had a tote bag filled with anything a bride or bridesmaid might need,” I explained.
“I could pack for Scotland in the Olympics, and it’s all across the hall, and I dinnae look like you.”
You didn’t wake up next to a hot, ex-professional rugby player, I thought but did not say.
“We’re all invited to Ned’s tonight for dinner,” Dair announced. “Blake is cooking.”
One would think he couldn’t get more unbearable, but apparently, he could.
“Ye cook?” Davi asked through some potatoes.
“It’s a hobby,” I said self-consciously.
“What are we having?” Davi questioned while shoving a torn-off piece of biscuit in her mouth.
I trained a pointed look at Dair.
“Ye can’t go wrong with steak,” he suggested through a playful smile that was playful because he read my pointed look and decided to mistake it.
I turned back to the others. “Whatever it is, it’ll be vegetarian.”
Davina burst out laughing.
Kenna managed a miniscule, but authentic, smile.
His tone was vastly different when he asked, “You’re not going home, Mum?”
She sipped tea then stated, “I took some time to think, and I dinnae see why my holiday in The States should be curtailed due to your father’s actions.”
“Go, Mum,” Davi encouraged.
Kenna checked her slim, gold watch and shared, “And he’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Davi gagged.
Dair growled, “The fuck he will.”
I pressed my lips together and sunk deep into the corner of the couch.
Kenna ignored both her children and said, “I can imagine ye understand why I’ll be filing for divorce when I return home.”
“Aye, we can understand it,” Davi replied. “But, Mum, why is Dad coming here?”
“So he can get his things, of course.” Another sweep of her hand and we all looked at the large suitcase sitting neatly by the door. “And I can share with him that he’ll need to stay in the flat in Edinburgh and make an appointment with me to come and get his things from the house. Also, so my two children can say what ye wish to say to him.”
“I can tell him he can go fuck himself and I’m on your side in a text,” Davi declared.
“Darling, he’s your father, and you’ll eventually get over this,” Kenna returned.
“Aye? Ye think?” Davi asked sarcastically, then answered herself. “I dinnae.”
“And ye wanted Blake here for this trauma…why?” Dair asked, and his tone made my attention dart to him.
Yes.
He was ticked at his mother if him scowling ferociously at her was any indication.
“Mostly so I could ascertain she was well after all that happened last night,” Kenna answered.
“And partly so he’ll behave himself, which he wouldn’t do if she wasn’t around,” Dair tacked on.
Kenna’s shoulders stiffened in affront. “I’m not using Blake as a shield.”
“But ye ken he’s gonna show, full of bluster, and act the dick to save face,” Dair kept at her. “And with Blake here, he’ll temper that, get his shite and go.”
“Honestly, Alasdair, I have no idea what your father will do,” Kenna said coldly. “I never could quite understand the way he behaved. Sadly, I loved him. No, I adored him. And even knowing it’s over, I still do. So, although many things he did were things I did not like, I stayed with him. Not anymore.”
I unburied myself from the side of the sofa to wrap my fingers around Dair’s muscled knee.
He looked to me.
“Even if I was here as a shield, which I’m not,” I said softly, “I wouldn’t mind.”
“This is your trauma, along with all of ours,” he returned. “We dinnae need to add to it.”
“This is Kenna’s trauma, Dair. I know you feel it. And so does Davina. But what you feel is not the same at all,” I replied. “Not even close.”
He pulled breath in through his nose, and when he released it, he nodded and seemed less tense.
This, unfortunately, communicated loads to me. That he listened. That he processed what he heard. That he understood. That he wasn’t obstinate and had the ability to stand down. Even in an emotionally volatile situation.
Damn, I didn’t need to know all of this about Alasdair Wallace.