Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“He asked me to call him Daddy, but he also wanted to call me Daddy, neither of which I was interested in. It just became awkward,” I explained.
“That’s not how that works,” he muttered. “Idiot.”
I sighed and moved closer to him, leaning my head on Kit’s big shoulder, only because it was cold out and his coat seemed to radiate heat. If he already saw me as a child, I might as well enjoy the benefits of seeking comfort like one, right?
“Sorry I interrupted your evening. Apologize to Mandi for me.”
“Mandi’s fine. We were out to dinner with her friends, and they promised to take her home.”
His casual mention of being with his current girlfriend made me low-key nauseous, but I chalked it up to being hungry from my aborted dinner. I’d only eaten a granola bar at lunch in anticipation of my date tonight with Hawthorne, but we’d been detained before the entrees had arrived.
“I should call Pastrano’s and give them my credit card,” I muttered, shivering a little.
“Hold on.”
He shuffled me back, pulled off his coat, and wrapped it around me before pulling me into his arms and letting me rest my head on his chest. “There,” he said gruffly. “And I’ll have Rajiv take care of the restaurant.”
“Thanks.” I let out a breath and tried to relax. It lasted all of three minutes.
“I’m sorry,” Kit blurted. “This one’s on me.”
I glanced up at him in surprise, noting the late-day stubble around his wine-stained lips. “I don’t see how, but I appreciate you trying to make me feel better.” I patted his chest as if to thank him for the gesture and then laid my head back down on his chest. “Truly, it’s on me. And a little bit on my friend Briar. Mostly, it’s on Hawthorne for being a criminal.”
He grunted.
A thought occurred to me, and I jerked upright. “Fuck, my dad’s people are going to—”
As if summoned, my phone began buzzing with a call from my father. I answered it on speaker mode, mostly so I could remain snuggled against Kit’s chest.
“I’m here,” I said, anticipating exactly what I got.
“Are you out of your mind? Arrested? What the fuck, Robbie?”
I felt Kit’s body stiffen. He opened his mouth to respond, but I quickly clapped a hand over it. “I wasn’t arrested. It was all a misunderstanding.”
“What happened?”
After giving him a quick recap that a man I’d started seeing very recently was arrested while I was with him and I’d temporarily been suspected as his partner in crime, I assured him there was no record of anything other than their attempt to question me about the man I was with.
“I hope you thanked your uncle Kit for helping you out of that situation.”
I flushed hot and cold. “He’s not my uncle!” I cried, sounding like the child he made me feel like.
My dad didn’t even seem to hear me. He’d already moved on. “Why are you dating criminals? This is like that other one… what was his name? Eric. Eric the embezzling priest.”
Kit’s jaw clenched, so I pressed my hand over his mouth again.
“Aaron,” I corrected, “is a pastor. And his church donated to a global organization that was charged with misuse of funds. He had nothing to do with it. Also, that was like six years ago.”
“Seven,” Kit muttered under his breath.
“Anyway, he wasn’t a criminal. We broke up because he… well, that’s not important. It has nothing to do with this.”
The truth was, Aaron hadn’t been all that upset about the scandal at the time, and it had left me feeling uneasy about the guy. I’d broken up with him when he admitted he wouldn’t consider adopting a special-needs child because he’d be too afraid of looking like he was virtue signaling to his congregation. Which also filled me with ick. So much ick that the only person I’d confided in about it had been Kit. And that was only because he told me he was willing to donate to one of Aaron’s pet charity projects if I wanted him to.
“I want you to meet Darcy Latham,” Dad said. “Come to the Fairmont this weekend. I’m hosting a charity dinner.
Kit’s nostrils flared, but he stayed quiet.
“The Fairmont Hotel? Here?” I squeaked in surprise. “In San Francisco?”
“Yes, Robbie. In San Francisco.” He sounded bored. “Please come. I’d really like you to meet this guy. And bring your friend Sam. Maybe I can get him to write a check.”
Not I’d really like to see you. Not let’s catch up since I’ll actually be in your city. Not even I’d like to show you off to my friends.
More like, I’d like your friend’s NFL money. Even though the money was Sam’s dad’s and he made a point not to touch it.
I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “No, thanks. Not interested. I’m decorating my classroom this weekend for Halloween anyway. And Sam is in Napa.”