Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Athena returned first with three reusable bags filled with groceries. Her smile was wide and her head was held high with pride. She slid into the car and Joey immediately clawed his way up Kairo’s chest and over the seat to get to his beloved owner.
“How did you get so much? And so fast! Isidore gave you only seventy euros.” Kairo turned in his seat to gaze at the bags she placed beside her on the rear bench.
“I know how to bargain shop!” She laughed and cuddled her ferret. “When I went to college in the States, I made friends with a lot of people who had to watch their budgets. They taught me how to hunt for bargains and how to hit the thrift stores. It’s so much fun getting a good deal.” She leaned toward him and smirked. “I might be rich, but I can appreciate thriftiness.”
Kairo snorted. “I wish you luck in finding a romantic partner who also likes thriftiness as much as you do and doesn’t just see you as an heiress to fund their lifestyle.”
Athena made a scoffing noise and rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. But I have no interest in marriage or romance like that. It’s nice to read about in books and watch on television, but I don’t want that for my life.”
He could only blink at her for a second. That was not what he’d expected, and he should have known better. She might look like an elegant Greek princess, but she certainly didn’t need a prince or a princess to complete her. “Oh. My bad.”
She shrugged and smiled at him. “No big deal. What I really want is to buy a huge house somewhere and live in it with three or four of my best friends. A place where we hang out, have all our various pets, and drink mojitos on lazy Sunday afternoons.”
“That sounds like heaven.” Kairo sighed. He wasn’t much for sitting still and he would probably get bored with that in a month or so, but right now, he could use a lazy Sunday mojito. But that idea was suddenly replaced with a different thought. Isidore. “What about your brother? Is he like you?”
“Asexual?” She tossed her head back and laughed so loud it drew the attention of people as they walked past the car. “Good grief, no.” She narrowed her gaze on him and frowned. “How can you be so smart and so blind? Isidore is gay. You missed that?”
Kairo cleared his throat, his eyes darting away for a second. “Well, no. I thought…maybe, but I guessed wrong with you, so I thought maybe I shouldn’t assume anything at all.”
She sighed dramatically. “He’s gay, but he’s not one of those carefree, I’m going to screw everyone and just be the wind gay men. He’s the type to give his heart to one person and settle down to build a family of gay men. You ever read one of those mpreg romance novels?”
“What?”
“Mpreg. It’s a gay romance, but one of the guys in the couple can actually have a baby.”
“What?” Kairo’s brain had officially locked up. He’d never heard of such a thing.
“That’s Isidore.”
Now he was sure Athena was crazy. “You’re saying Isidore is a man who thinks he can have a baby.”
Athena rolled her eyes at him as though he were the densest person she’d ever met. “No! I’m saying Isidore is the family type. He wants to fall in love, get married, and have kids. If he could carry the baby himself, he freaking would.”
“Oh,” Kairo whispered. He didn’t know what to say to all of that. Was he surprised? Not really. Except for maybe that mpreg part that completely blew his mind. Apparently he wasn’t reading enough or the right genres. He occasionally snapped up a romantic comedy when he was in the mood, but he definitely hadn’t known about mpreg.
But aside from that, it wasn’t all that surprising that Isidore wasn’t a player. That he wanted a forever kind of love that naturally led to building a home and a family with someone.
And while Kairo might be a little dense, he wasn’t so dense that he missed the hidden message that he was being bludgeoned with from Athena. If you don’t mean to be the settling-down type, keep your distance from my brother.
Fine with him. He had no designs on Isidore, even if the man was stupidly hot and sweet. Kairo had his friends and job to worry about. His life was set and moving in the direction that he wanted.
Thankfully, Isidore returned to the car soon after their conversation, saving Kairo from any more dire warnings from Athena. He’d picked up a simple flip phone and one hundred prepaid minutes. That was more than enough for him to get in contact with Charlie and make plans for their next step.