Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Oh yeah?”
I nodded, mouth full of food. At the risk of turning into Lily, my lunch lacked ketchup.
My food was lacking altogether these days, though. Nate and I had been a team. I was decent on my own, but together, we’d crushed it.
“My nieces,” I said. “With Theo’s help, obviously. They’re too young on their own.” Theo and Claire had sworn their girls had nothing to do with the ducks, but I wasn’t entirely convinced yet. “Theo and I were good at pranking each other back in the day, and I once sent him an air freshener in the mail every month for almost two years. I wrote poems about how bad he smelled. I started when I was like…seventeen or something.”
James chuckled with a mouth full of chicken Alfredo that Jordan had made.
I was a little envious, I couldn’t lie.
“So, next time you’re there, go snoopin’ for plastic ducks in your nieces’ rooms,” James said.
I nodded and wagged my fork at him. “Solid idea. We’re supposed to play board games with them on Sunday, Mikey and me. And you know what? I can threaten them. If they don’t fess up, they can’t play with the latest family member.”
And that was Paws. Penelope had given me an actual kitten as an early birthday present, so guess who was no longer dying alone.
This guy.
Provided that the cat lived till he was thirty.
“I’m glad you’re not going overboard or anythin’,” James commented.
Asshole.
I nudged his elbow with my own. “I’m glad you’ve gotten over the whole drunk debacle where you practically begged me to fuck you. Remember that?”
He snapped his mouth shut and scowled at me.
I grinned.
“Boss, you promised we’d never bring that up ever again.”
“Oh, right. I forgot.”
My bad. I had so few things to keep my mood up these days that I had to take advantage.
After work, I drove out to Mclean.
Not for any fun reasons, but to pick up Hallie. Noa, the brattiest brat to ever have bratted, was also one of the sweetest kids I’d met. He’d hooked my girl up with a part-time job right after the cruise. I’d mentioned in passing that Hallie wanted a job, and he’d just called his manager at the grocery store where he worked. Where he worked for fun.
When I was almost there, Nate called, so I inserted my earbuds and took the call.
“What’s up?” You motherfucker.
Maybe I was still 100% butthurt because he hadn’t cared to fight for the National Parks Passport.
“What we’ve been dreading finally happened this morning,” he said. “It wasn’t Micah, though. It was Lily. She asked why you and I never kiss or hug.”
Oh. Hell.
Well, see, princess, your dad doesn’t want me anymore.
“What did you answer?” I asked.
He sighed. “Micah kinda saved my ass by blurting out that kissing was gross because of cooties—at which Lily got huffy and said he was wrong, because kissing means you love someone.”
“That’s my girl,” I murmured, turning into the parking lot of the store. “So, you didn’t tell her that you don’t love me anymore?”
“Funny.”
Not one bit.
He cleared his throat. “I told her I’d talk to you about it but that we definitely love each other, which… I don’t know. I feel bad lying outright.”
I clenched my jaw. “Well, I need one more week.” Maybe. Actually, I probably only needed two days, but I was gonna try to stretch that to two weeks. Because I was a dumbass masochist.
It was just the thought of taking off my ring—a thought that plagued me every damn night at the moment—made me wanna cry.
“I gotta go,” I said, killing the engine. “I’m about to pick up Hallie. Are you home?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit, then.” I ended the call and climbed out of the truck, breathing in the fresh spring air.
Focus on the good shit in life.
I was trying, dammit. I’d reconnected with my friends. I was back in the kink community. I had brats running around me every time I was out there. I’d joined an event, even. I was gonna be the King Master Owner of Penelope’s new girlfriend tomorrow. Nonsexual playtime, obviously, but damn, Nora was funny. She sure as hell scratched the Sadist’s itch in me.
I walked into the store, figuring I might as well pick up dinner. They had a deli here I could try.
I wasn’t in the mood to cook anyway.
After grabbing a basket, I made my way toward the back—
Hold up.
I heard Hallie’s voice in the next aisle over, and she wasn’t alone.
“Was there anything else?” she asked.
I frowned. I knew my daughter’s moods, and the tone right there—she wasn’t happy.
“Yes, one thing,” some guy replied. “You know, I can totally picture you in my bed.”
The fucker said what? I turned cold in an instant, and I gnashed my teeth and strode—
“That’s so funny,” Hallie giggled, “because I can totally picture you in a ditch.”