Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
He shook his head. “Nah.”
“Do you ever see anyone?”
He shook his head again. “Not my cup of tea.”
“It’ll be your tea once you find the right woman.”
He gave a quiet chuckle. “Just because you fell in love and popped out a kid doesn’t mean I will. Or will ever want to.”
“True,” I said. “But if you meet that woman, doesn’t matter what you want. You’re fucked. The second I met Aurelia, I was so fucked. Fucked in every way imaginable. But a good fucked, you know. And you’re great with Julia. You’d be a stand-up dad.”
He chuckled quietly. “Hanging out with a kid for a couple hours is not the same thing as being a full-time dad.”
“Yeah, it’s better.”
He grinned. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy, Constantine. You’re a good guy.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. “You think you can hold down the job for another twenty years until Julia is old enough?”
His eyebrows furrowed at the question as he studied me. “I can’t tell if that’s a joke or not.”
“Does it sound like a joke?”
He studied me again, his eyes flicking back and forth. “I thought that would be the last thing you wanted for her.”
I shrugged. “I mean, if she wants it, she wants it. Unless you have a kid or someone better suited to the position.”
“Look, I don’t mean to sound like a sexist prick, but I’m not sure a woman is the right person for the role.”
“You do sound like a sexist prick,” I said. “And if she wants it, I’m sure she can handle it. I’m raising her to be a tough chick. A bad bitch, some might say,” I said with a grin.
“Then how about we cross that bridge when we come to it, all right?”
At that moment, Julia came out and put the swordfish rolls on the table between us. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, baby girl.” I gave her a little smack on the butt, and she ran off again. “Besides, if someone ever gives her trouble, she’s got a scary-as-fuck dad to call and a psycho uncle to clean up her messes.”
“You know we’d be fifty-nine in this scenario.”
“So? I’m sure I’ll still be able to lift a tree by then. You’re gonna let yourself go? Eat a pint of gelato in front of the TV every night?”
He smirked. “I do like gelato.”
“Augustus denied his daughter Julia the throne and handed it over to his fucking nephews. I wouldn’t repeat the same bullshit. If she wants power and wealth and to be the baddest bitch in Rome, it’s hers. I’m not gonna tell her there’s something she can’t do, because she sure as hell can do whatever she wants.”
He grabbed his wine, took a drink, and then held it up toward me. “I’ll drink to that.”
I gently clinked my glass against his. “To Julia, the First Empress of Rome, the baddest bitch who’s ever ruled.”
He chuckled and took a drink. “To Julia.”