Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“She sounds delightful.”
“She is,” he agrees, “in her own way.” He exhales deeply. “Seriously though, I want you to come and work for the foundation because I think you would make it that much better. But I’m not going to dare you to do it.”
“Okay,” I say softly, “I won’t take into account the dare.”
“Thank you,” he replies and then silence lingers between us. “I’ll let you go.”
“Okay.” I don’t want to let him go but I’m not sure how to prolong the conversation. “Have a good night.”
“It’s one of the best nights I’ve ever had. Goodnight, Lexi,” he adds quickly and then hangs up.
I look down at the phone and then do something I haven’t done in ten years. I start a social media account. The first thing I do is search his name and then see the first picture of him is of him on the ice. I scroll down and stop at a couple of videos to hear what he is saying. Each time it’s an interview about the game. There is a picture of him at a blackjack table with a caption of Casino Night, with Jaxon in the back of it. I scroll until I see a picture of his cat. She’s sitting down with the cutest face I think I’ve ever seen on a cat; she’s all black with a little patch of white on her chest. The caption says it all, Meet Ms. Jefferson.
I smile before shutting it down and placing my phone to the side. Sleep comes easy to me, so easy that I’m shocked when I open my eyes nine hours later and I’m literally in the same position I was when I fell asleep. I stretch my hands over my head before tossing the covers off me. I wash my face and brush my teeth before grabbing my robe and making my way downstairs. “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” Ariella sings softly as I walk into the kitchen.
She’s sitting on the stool with Jagger beside her in his highchair, as she is feeding him his cereal. “Morning,” I say with a smile on my face. Jagger turns his head to my voice and smiles. “Morning, handsome boy. How did we sleep?”
“He woke up once at three and then went back down again,” Ariella shares. “It was magical.”
I make a coffee before going over and standing on the other side of the counter, leaning over it with my elbows on it while I take a sip. “Is Jaxon gone?”
“He is,” she confirms and then turns her eyes to me. “Last night was fun, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” I admit to her.
“You and Kirby.” I look at her, not saying anything, and then I shock the shit out of her.
“Me and Kirby have a history.”
The gasp fills the room. “Not that type of history.” I rethink my words. “But he—” I smile. “We became friends when I was in Phoenix.”
“When?”
“After your baby shower.” I clear up the timeline. “We came face-to-face with each other at the hospital. He was there to volunteer, and he got roped into being one of the bachelors at the fundraiser I was throwing.”
“And,” she eggs me on.
“And nothing, really, we became friends. He—” I take a sip of my coffee. “He figured out I was going through something with Trent.”
“How?”
“Not sure,” I say, not willing to give away his past. If he wants anyone to know, he’ll tell them. “But he knew I was going through things and he was…” I shrug. “…there.”
“I had no idea,” she says softly.
“No one did.” I smile at her. “I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Well, I’m glad he was there to help you through it then.” She reaches across the island and puts her hand on mine and squeezes it.
“I applied for the job,” I tell her and her eyes go big.
“What job? The one I told you about?”
“The foundation Kirby owns,” I point out and she shrugs.
“I didn’t know you two had a history or I wouldn’t have mentioned it.” She scoops some cereal in the blue plastic spoon before giving it to Jagger. “How did it go?”
“Well, after getting over the shock that it was him, I think it went well.” I smile at Jagger.
“Are you going to do it?”
“I think so,” I admit to her, standing up now and placing one foot on top of the other. “I love what they stand for, and it’s someplace that I would feel like I’m actually making a difference in people’s lives.”
“I think you’d be perfect for the job,” she encourages me, “and you’d have a kick-ass office. We are just getting the stuff delivered now and it’s so pretty.”
I smile. “Now all I have to do is decide if I’m going to take the house.”
“This is so exciting.” She looks at Jagger. “Isn’t this exciting, little man?” Then she turns to me. “A new job and a new house.” She whistles. “Watch out, world, Lexi Petrov is back.”