Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
But the best part of all this baking we were doing was watching Romeo, the big badass with a beard and strong, imposing muscles, roll out dough and jump to get me anything and everything I might want.
He’d measured out ingredients, washed up dishes, and ultimately acted like the best assistant chef ever as I did my thing.
And not once had he complained.
He held great conversations the entire time, and I was slowly coming to realize that this huge, scary man wasn’t nearly as scary as he wanted to appear to be. Oh, and I was slowly falling in love with him.
It was too soon.
We hadn’t known each other all that long.
But I felt like there was quite a bit one could learn about a man who had taken care of your dog for six months, fallen in love with him, and had given him back because it was the right thing to do. And bonus—got him snow boots for his paws.
It was super sweet how every once in a while, Brawny would come up to Romeo and bump him on the leg, and Romeo would drop to his haunches and talk to Brawny like he was a child instead of a dog.
I also didn’t fail to notice the huge dog bed that was in the corner of the room, or the hundreds of toys that seemed to appear out of nowhere when Brawny pawed at a closet door.
Then there was his encouraging me to fight back against my “family.”
He’d even ordered me to text Rocky, my lawyer friend, to ask her what I would need to do to get my parents kicked out of my house.
Now I was cutting cinnamon rolls and he was prepping the bacon, and I was realizing that this was what it was like to have a man care about you. He wanted to fix all the problems. And if he couldn’t do it, he would find a way to get it fixed.
Speaking of fixing…
His phone rang and he answered it without hesitation, placing it on speaker between us.
“Apollo, tell me you have good news.”
Apollo.
His brother-in-law.
He’d spoken about him a lot. It was obvious that he cared for his brother-in-law.
I also loved the way he spoke about his sister being his best friend.
“If you’re wondering if I have any news on this fuckin’ lunatic named Birdee Watts, then you’re right.” He paused. “Why do you sound weird?”
“You’re on speakerphone,” he answered. “The woman that you’re looking into this for, Mable, is with me. We got snowed in.”
My lips twitched as I started to pile the cinnamon rolls into the tray.
“Ahh,” Apollo drawled. “Nice to finally speak to you, Mable. I’ve been learning a lot about your so-called sister.”
I felt my belly tighten in response. “My so-called sister has never once been a sister to me. If you’re finding anything interesting, that doesn’t surprise me.”
“She’s quite a skilled computer guru,” he said. “Not skilled enough to keep me out or anything, but definitely skilled.”
“My parents paid a lot of money for her to go to college. She was forced to pick a major, and went with computer science and business. I think she’s good enough to get by and do some shady things, but not good enough to keep her out of trouble.”
“Is that why you’re suing her?” he asked.
I smiled as I placed another cinnamon roll into the tray. “How much do you know about her? Do you know what she did to me on my almost-wedding day?”
Apollo started to list off everything he knew.
“Well, without sounding too invasive, I had to look into your life a bit, too. So between her and you, I was able to piece together quite a bit,” he admitted.
“You’re more than welcome to dig as deep as you want as long as you find a way for me to use any information you dig up on getting her out of my house and getting my money back that she stole.”
“I’ll do you quite a few better,” he said just as I got the last of the cinnamon rolls into the tray and covered them with a clean dish rag. “From what Romeo has shared, you’re more than aware of everything she stole from you when it came to your wedding. You knew that she took back your deposit when you canceled your wedding venue. You know that she took your deposit back when she canceled your lease. You know that she…”
On he went, listing all the things that we were aware that Birdee had done.
But then he got to the more interesting matters. “How well do you follow your credit score?”
My stomach sank. “Not very. Why?”
“I hate to tell you this, but she’s been using your ID and credit on almost everything she’s done. She fills out applications for loans in your name. She bought a new car in your name. She even attempted to purchase a house under your name.” He cleared his throat. “The house fell through because the buyers backed out. But the rest went through. The only reason you likely haven’t heard about any of it is because she’s paying the notes on everything.” He snorted. “Well, she’s not. Your dad is.”