Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
I get her situated to nurse and grab my phone, texting Abby.
Me: Hey, I had to run to Chicago for a “work” errand and was just thinking about you.
Not expecting her to text back right away, I set the phone down and lean back, eyes falling shut. I’d give anything to have Lucas’s arms around me right now. To hear him tell me it’s going to be okay, and if it isn’t, at least we have each other. Knowing he was at my side, that he had my back…it’s what got me through life. I don’t want to go on without him.
Scarlet joins me on the couch, resting her big head on my thigh. Freya and Pandora are upstairs on the rooftop patio, and I can sense Binx drawing near.
My phone chimes, startling me back to reality. Sucking in a breath, I slowly sit up so as not to disturb Juliet and pick up the phone.
Abby: Are you at the house? I drove by and saw lights on.
Me: Creeper ;-)
Abby: Hah, I know, right? These damn one-way streets force me to drive down N Orchard on my way home from work.
Me: Sure, stalker.
Abby: LOL You got me! How are you? And Juliet? I’m going to need another baby fix ASAP!
Me: She’s perfect.
I send my most recent photo of Juliet, side stepping away from Abby’s question of how I’m doing. Sitting down with my sister and having a good cry could be therapeutic, but I don’t have time for it and I don’t want to tell her what happened. She worries too much and there’s nothing she can do to help.
Abby: Awwww. Penny wants to see the “bay-bee” again as she says it. We need to do another date night. Maybe without kids this time.
I swallow the lump in my throat.
Me: Yeah. That would be nice. I’ll let you know next time we’re in Chicago and we can plan something.
Abby: Sounds good. And I hope Lucas can pull some strings again and get us all in at that fancy French place you like so much. You can actually have a glass of wine this time too!
Me: That would be amazing. We will do it. The four of us.
Abby: Yay! I’m going to hop in the shower and go to bed. Sad I missed you this time but see you soon!
I black out my screen and make a promise that Lucas and I will go to the fancy-pants French restaurant and I will order a glass of their most expensive wine as soon as he’s out of hell.
“Ready?” Eliza asks, appearing behind the couch with a designer suitcase in hand. She’s holding it as if it weighs nothing, but I’m sure that thing is stuffed full.
“Yeah, in a minute,” I say, looking down at Juliet. She’s starting to doze off, and I have to get her out of this fluffy dress and into a onesie before I can buckle her into her car seat. Everything goes smoothly until it’s time to actually leave. Juliet starts crying and doesn’t stop until we get to Thorne Hill, making me wonder if my bad luck is starting already.
My nerves are shot by the time we pull into the driveway, and Juliet quiets down, finally falling asleep. She wakes up as soon as I get the car seat out, despite my best efforts to move slowly and quietly. Then I realize she has not only a messy diaper that leaked through her clothes, but she also spit up all over herself. Was that why she cried the whole drive home?
Feeling like a bad mom—again—I clean her up and spend the next hour trying to get her to fall back asleep. Finally, I do, and I don’t even attempt the bassinet tonight. I put her in her swing and turn it on then head into the bathroom to get myself ready for bed.
I’m half asleep when I feel the mattress sink down next to me. I don’t think much of it until a cold hand lands on my shoulder. The feel of cool skin against me brings me instant comfort.
Until I remember that Lucas can’t be in bed with me.
Chapter
Fourteen
Summoning a ball of white light, I sit up and almost pummel Eliza right in the face with magic.
“The fuck, Eliza?” I close my fingers, putting out the light. “I almost burned your face off.”
“Yeah, be careful with that.” She props herself up on her elbow and narrows her eyes. “My skin heals but my hair does not. Do you know how long it took for me to grow it out like this?”
“I actually don’t.” Vampires’ hair and nails still grow even though they’re technically dead. It just takes a lot longer than it would for a human. “What are you doing?”
She lays back down and I realize she’s tucked herself under the covers with me. “The day you got married, Lucas made me promise him if anything happened, I would take care of you.” Her hand lands on my shoulder again. “I want to uphold my promise.”