Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 68735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68735 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Kiana rolled her eyes. “Family business doesn’t just stop when you have babies. Life goes on. But this one, she rolls with the punches. Didn’t move an inch when I was working today at all.”
That’s when I realized that she’d had the baby strapped to her during her many dances earlier.
Talk about strength.
“But I’m super tired, and we’re ready for bed. I’m sorry to cut it short, Audric,” Kiana apologized.
Audric dropped a kiss to her head and said, “Let me introduce you to my future wife before you go.”
Kiana’s eyes lit with happiness before she turned to me. “I’m so rude. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kiana.”
“Creole.” I smiled. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to meet properly. Get home and get some rest.”
She looked at me with relief. “Talk to you again soon. Aloha.”
“Aloha.” I smiled again as I watched her go, taking the young Alani with her.
That left the four of us again, and Keanu asked, “Future wife?”
“It’s news to me, too.” I snorted.
Audric offered me a naughty smile. “I’d planned to convince you over the weekend.”
I snickered. “We shall see.”
And we did.
By the time that we left, there were no lingering doubts or apprehensions. Only him and me, and the knowledge that we were meant to be.
I was also sporting a ring on my left finger belonging to his grandmother as I greeted passengers forty-eight hours later. With a smile on my face, and the knowledge that with Audric by my side, I didn’t have to live in fear anymore.
Too bad that was tested a few days later.
Twenty-Four
Your ‘I can’t because it’s hot’ attitude is coming out.
—Audric to Creole
AUDRIC
I was back at work, and I was dying.
On the plane ride home, there was a couple with a baby that’d been sitting across the aisle from me.
That baby had been coughing up a lung, and I’d known before I’d even gotten off the plane that I would be sick as a dog in the coming week.
I was proven right three days later when a fever appeared that knocked me on my ass.
Sadly, life didn’t pause when you owned your own business. You didn’t have anyone who could take over for you when it came to meeting clients or doing finish work that only you could do.
Hence why I was at the apartment building for one final inspection while also meeting a prospective client who wanted to see what kind of work I did.
Usually, I let my references speak for themselves, but this time I obliged the client because he would be netting me my biggest project yet—a billion-dollar nuclear energy plant that had more plumbing in that one building than I’d put in on my last years’ worth of buildings combined.
Eedie was looking at me from six feet away, her eyes slightly wide.
“Are you sure that you should be here?” she asked, looking worried.
“I’ll manage,” I said. “I just over medicated myself with so much Tylenol, Motrin, and cough syrup that I probably shouldn’t be driving.”
She snorted. “I think that you’re not supposed to be driving under the influence. When we get done meeting this guy, I’ll take you home.”
“Can’t,” I said. “Gotta get the paperwork done on our last project. And to be quite honest, I don’t think I should be in an enclosed space with you. You’ll definitely get sick.”
She wrinkled her nose, and she looked so much like Webber in that moment that I smiled despite how bad I felt.
“How’s Creole doing?” Eedie wondered. “How’d Hawaii go?”
My gaze went far away for a second as I remembered how, despite feeling like utter shit, I still left her a sated mess when I walked out that morning.
“She’s good. Hawaii was good. We went to a luau.” I smiled, remembering the way Creole watched me throughout the night. I’d never felt better. “I think that Creole literally hates being a flight attendant, though. She doesn’t necessarily show that she hates it, but I can read the signs since I know her so well.”
“When did y’all meet?” she asked.
I grinned as I remembered the day.
“We were young. Ten or so,” I said. “She moved in two streets over from me, and Laney, my best friend at the time, happened to be riding her bike around the neighborhood when Creole and her family moved in. They hadn’t even finished opening the door to their U-Haul yet when Laney and I pulled up on our bikes. Laney went up and asked her if she wanted to ride around the neighborhood with us, and she agreed until she saw me. Apparently, she didn’t like boys because they were mean.”
“Boys are mean,” Eedie interjected.
I snorted. “Some boys are. Others aren’t. Then again, some girls are bitches, while others aren’t.”
Eedie offered me a disgusted look.
I stopped talking when my phone started to vibrate.