Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“I thought she’d agreed to stay for a while?”
“She did on Monday, when she was still sedated, but now that they’ve ruled her not a danger to herself or others, they can’t force her to take any meds or stay there, and she wants to leave.”
“What will happen with the girls?”
“It depends on how our conversation goes today, but normally the court makes Catherine do some work on herself—like meet with a psychiatrist and counselor a few times and prove she’s taking her meds regularly—before they’ll even consider reunification. I can’t imagine that would happen sooner than a month or two, but I’ll know more later. I may need to fly down to Ohio tomorrow morning. I need to see her in person if she’s getting out, to assess whether it’s okay for her to be near the kids this quickly, even for a visit. If she’s stable, I’ll bring her back to New York, and she can stay in the guest apartment in my building and visit the kids as much as she wants, as long as someone else is present. But I’m not letting them go back with her too quickly this time.”
“Will you take the girls to Ohio with you?”
Jagger shook his head. “I won’t even let them know I’m going to see her until I figure out if she’s stable. She’s scared them enough, and I don’t want to get their hopes up. Plus, either way, she and I are going to have a long talk that the kids don’t need to hear.”
I slipped from the bed and took over tying his tie as I spoke. “I can hang out with them while you’re gone.”
“Louise can probably watch them. I mentioned that I might need her on weekends when I asked her to come back.”
“I want to do it. I picked up a bunch of hair accessories for us to play around with—butterfly clips, headbands, snap-on extensions…” I tucked Jagger’s tie through the loop and pulled the knot up to his neck. “I like this tie on you. It brings out the blue in your eyes.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Thank you. And that was very sweet of you to pick up all that stuff for my nieces.”
“I had as much fun as they did playing dress-up. It was always one of my favorite things to do as a kid.”
“Oh yeah?” Jagger’s hand snaked around my waist and slid down to grab a handful of my ass. He squeezed hard. “Maybe we should play together. I bet you dressing up would be one of my favorite things, too.”
I laid my hands flat on his chest and bit my lower lip. “I might be able to arrange for a little playtime one morning, if you play your cards right.”
“I’ll tell the sitter to come an hour earlier tomorrow.”
I laughed. “Slow down, cowboy. Don’t you want to sleep in a bit on Saturday?”
“I’d rather spend the extra hours inside you than sleep. These fifteen-minute morning things don’t cut it.”
“Miles is also flying in tomorrow night. So I’ll have a house guest.”
Jagger frowned. “How long is he staying?”
“Until Tuesday. We have a tradition that we’re always together at midnight the night before one of our birthdays, so we can be the first to say happy birthday.”
“It’s his birthday Sunday?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s mine.”
Jagger froze. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I hadn’t really given it any thought until Miles texted me his flight information two days ago. I don’t really do big birthdays. It’s Miles who thinks they’re national holidays.”
An alarm chimed from somewhere. Jagger pulled out his phone. “Sorry. I have to set an alarm now when I visit you in the morning, or I get carried away. Yesterday, I was a half hour late for a meeting with a team of lawyers. Probably cost me ten grand in fees.” He took my chin between his thumb and index finger and pulled my face to him. “It was worth the extra time inside of you, but I need to run. I’m meeting Edmund this morning, and it’s bad enough that I’m going to have his stepdaughter’s taste in my mouth. I don’t want to be late, too.”
“I have an extra toothbrush, if you want?”
“No way. Tasting you is what gets me through the day lately.” He gave me a chaste kiss. “We’ll discuss your birthday later.”
I didn’t think there was any more to discuss, but I shrugged. “Have a good day.”
Jagger reached for his suit jacket. “Wear a skirt so I can see your thighs on the security feed, and I will.”
***
Saturday morning, I arrived at Jagger’s apartment at seven. He’d offered to have Louise come over and watch the girls until I got there, but I didn’t mind getting up early, especially not when Jagger opened the door, hooked an arm around my waist, and pulled me against him for a languid kiss.