Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“You have—”
He cut her off with a hard kiss. “It bears repeating,” he said against her mouth.
“Could you two kindly stop Frenching in the driveway?” Elton complained on his way down the front steps, doing a double take when he saw their disheveled state. “How did you guys spend the day? Re-creating scenes from The Notebook?”
“Shut up, Elton,” Robbie and Skylar said simultaneously.
Her brother only laughed. “Who’s ready to get their asses handed to them in the family talent show? You won’t see mine coming.”
“Magic tricks?” Skylar drawled.
Elton gave her a death stare. “You ruined it. Happy now?”
“Obscenely.” She could still feel Robbie staring at her profile. “Robbie got called back to Boston for a late practice, so we’ll have to postpone.”
“Oh shit.” Despite the rocky start he’d gotten off to with Robbie, her brother couldn’t hide his disappointment. “Sorry, man, that sucks.” He looked at his watch. “Traffic gets heavy around . . . never mind, it’s always heavy in Boston.”
“Truth.” Robbie reached out and slapped Elton on the shoulder. “Sorry to leave when the competition is heating up. On the bright side, this gives you an extra day to work on your magic tricks.”
“Let’s hope he’s going to make himself disappear,” Skylar teased.
Robbie chuckled, while Elton gave her a sour look.
“Listen, your sister is coming to my home game on Thursday next week. I’ll try and hook you up for the next one.” Robbie shrugged. “If you want to watch how a real sport is played.”
“Hilarious.” Elton rolled a grudging shoulder. “Yeah, fine, I guess I can suffer through it.” He sighed. “I’ll go break the news to Mom and Dad about the talent show. Pretty sure I overheard them practicing a reenactment from their favorite episode of Blue Bloods, so don’t cry too hard over missing that.”
The men engaged in some kind of ritualistic backslapping routine that Skylar interpreted as a display of friendship, but she couldn’t be sure. A minute later, she followed Robbie into the house, parting ways in the hallway so he could grab his things while she quickly put together a chicken salad wrap and a bag of multigrain chips, tucking the road meal in a reusable tote bag and waiting for him in the kitchen, still aglow from . . . everything. The incredible day they’d spent together. Robbie’s truce with Elton. The fact that she had plans to see him again.
Skylar’s phone vibrated in her pocket, pulling her from her daze.
A text from Eve had her sitting up straighter. Finally.
Eve: Hey. Could I bring the kids over for a while later?
Skylar let out a breath she’d been holding since the night at the Gilded Garden.
Skylar: Yes. Please come now for dinner.
Eve: We can’t stay too long 😔 I’m working tonight. But I don’t want to miss you before you go back to Boston. I’m sorry I didn’t have more time, Skylar.
Skylar: Don’t apologize. We’ll talk when I see you. Fair warning, my parents will be battling the whole time to come out on top as the kids’ favorite.
Eve: Spoiler: It’s whoever has the candy.
Skylar: Noted. See you soon.
Robbie emerged from the hallway—regrettably, in dry clothing—with his duffel strap over one shoulder, his gaze seeking her out at the kitchen table, expression warming. “Hey, Rocket.”
“Hey, Redbeard.”
“Walk me out?”
“Sure.” She stood and he held up his left arm, wordlessly inviting her beneath it and she went, her shoulders settling into the warm nook of his body like she could never belong anywhere else. “But you should know, when you ask a pitcher to walk you, it has a totally different meaning.”
His body shook with a quiet laugh. “I have an entirely new language to learn.”
She kissed his shoulder, looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. “Maybe this time, I’ll tutor you in something. Do you think you’ll be as good a student as I was?”
He made a sound that was part pain, part amusement. “See, this is why we’re going to cancel dates. You going around saying shit like that. Now I’m seeing you dressed like a librarian, drilling me on softball terminology.” He leaned down and caught her mouth in a kiss. “How am I supposed to drive?”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right, I’m not.” They simultaneously hip-bumped each other.
They proceeded down the steps, stopping at the trunk of her car, Robbie popping it open and tossing in his bag. Gathering her back into his arms. “I’ll call you tonight.”
“Okay.” Skylar closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. “Eve is coming over. She’s bringing the kids.”
He pulled back quickly, brows aloft, and she could see he simply knew. During one of their many conversations in town that morning, she’d filled Robbie in on the fraught scene at the Gilded Garden and how the exchange had ended with the discovery that Eve was now caring for her sister’s twins—although, for some reason, Skylar had left out the fact that Madden had also been there. That they’d shared a drink together. Skylar ignored the stab of guilt now, focusing on Robbie’s sympathetic expression. He knew how much it meant that Eve had finally reached out. That they were going to see each other. “I’m so glad, Skylar. You’ll let me know how it goes?”