Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“No.” He kisses Billy’s head, and all Billy can do is try to look at his mother, thinking she’s playing peekaboo with him. “Go away”—she raises her eyebrows at him—“and do good things and then come back to us.”
“You’re lucky that you have my child, Charlie Barnes,” she hisses, “and I love you, or I would seriously not come back.”
Charlie watches her walk away from him, then looks at me, then his son. “Your mom is full of it; she loves me big.”
“You know love and hate is the same emotion, right?” I ask and watch Lilah and Autumn until they walk into a classroom and I can’t see them anymore.
“Is it?” He looks at me. “Interesting you say that, because your attitude always says you hate Lilah.”
“No.” I shake my head, not admitting I walked right into that. “I don’t hate her. She just gets on my last damn nerve. It’s different.”
“Is it?” Charlie fucks with me and looks down at Billy. “Your uncle Emmett likes a girl.”
“Don’t say that shit too loud,” I snap. “She already thought I was trying to hook up with Lucy’s teacher.”
Charlie gasps. “Oh my God, did you?” He shakes his head. “I know you do stupid things lots of times, but banging your kid’s teacher would be the ultimate stupidest thing you could do.”
“I have not banged her,” I hiss with my teeth clenched, looking around to make sure no one can hear him. The last thing I need is gossip going around. “Nor do I want to bang her.”
“Because you want to bang Lilah,” Charlie immediately counters.
“Don’t you have to go and fuck off?” I ask Charlie, who snickers.
I see Lucy walking out of the classroom with Saige beside her, the two of them laughing and giggling, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her act like a kid. The first time she isn’t scared she said something she shouldn’t or that she was walking around with the biggest problem on her shoulders.
For the first time ever, she looks like a carefree kid, and it keeps me rooted to my spot. “She’s laughing,” I whisper, and Charlie slaps my shoulder.
“Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever heard?”
“One of them, yes,” I tell him, nodding my head. He looks over at me, probably wanting to know what else could be better than that.
I stand beside him as I watch, mesmerized as my daughter and Saige walk into the room Autumn and Lilah are in. “How much do you want to bet those two are going to make sure to outdo the other two?” He shakes his head and walks their way. I follow him until I’m at the doorway, looking inside. Autumn and Lilah are walking from desk to desk with Lucy and Saige on their heels, and just as they leave one desk, the other two outbid them.
“How much do you think tonight is going to cost me?” Charlie asks, and I look over at him.
“I think you’ll survive.” I smirk and laugh, making the four pairs of eyes look over at me. “You guys about finished?”
“Yeah,” Lucy confirms, walking to me. “Can we get some donuts?”
“Oh, yeah,” Saige says. “Everleigh said she was going to put two aside for me.” She grabs Lucy’s hands. “Let’s go and see what flavor they are.”
“Okay,” Lucy agrees and is being pulled outside by Saige as if they’ve been friends since they were born.
“I’m so happy,” Lilah says from beside me, watching where the two girls just left. I look at her and see her wiping tears from the corner of her eye. “She was laughing and all of that.”
“Yeah,” I say, and the need to wrap my arm around her shoulders is there with such a force, I can’t stop it when it happens. “Crazy, right?”
“Today is all full of crazy things,” Charlie observes, not missing out that my arm is around Lilah. “It’s almost like it’s a full moon.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Autumn adds from beside Charlie, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Now, I think you owe me dinner.”
“Anything you want, baby.” He bends down to kiss her lips. I glance at Lilah, who shares a look with me, and I see her cheeks go pink. I’m wondering if she thinks about the kiss we had not too long ago and the almost kiss that happened tonight.
“How do we pay for all of the things?” I ask Autumn, motioning with my head.
“Lilah paid the teacher two hundred dollars already,” Autumn says, and I gasp. “So let’s go.” She grabs Charlie’s hand, pulling him out of the school.
“You did that?” I ask.
“I came prepared to spend two hundred dollars on Lucy’s project, but then you went all ‘let’s bid five hundred dollars,’” Lilah states, glaring at me, and fuck, if she isn’t beautiful and cute all rolled up in one. She takes a step forward. “Now I’m going to go see if they have either donuts or funnel cakes.”