Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
She nodded. “I would love that.” And then she did a slow turn to me and mouthed the words I love him.
I squinted at her. That was not helping at all.
“So…Chris is starving. Is it okay if I get the pizza ordered, or is it too early for the kids to eat?”
“No, now is fine,” she assured him. “I’m sorry I couldn’t cook for you.”
“There will be other times,” he told her. “Like, say, tomorrow night. We usually do two sets and take a break between them. There’s five of us, so if that’s too much, we can just—”
“Not at all,” she said, smiling at him. “I’ll have you guys try my new recipes. That’s fantastic.”
“Just keep in mind that we’re all kind of spice guys.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning what’s hot for other people is like nothing to us.”
“Is that right?”
He nodded, grinning at her.
“You and the band, you all like spicy food?”
“Yeah,” he said, then walked over to the kids. “What kind of pizza are we wanting?”
Georgine turned to me. “I am going to blow their heads off tomorrow with my jambalaya.”
“I dunno.”
“You don’t know?”
I gestured at Dawson. “He’s not kidding. Normally just smelling what he orders makes my nose hairs burn.”
“I see,” she said evilly.
“Don’t kill the band. We need them to make with the live music and all.”
“I make no promises,” she teased as Cami and a now sparkly Henry told Dawson, their voices overlapping, what kind of pizza they wanted, along with garlic bread and dipping sauces.
“Are you supervising that?” Georgine asked me.
“I will, yes. Now will you go change, please. Seth will be over shortly.”
She left with an under-her-breath comment about how much Cami liked Dawson. Apparently, she had regaled her mother about learning guitar.
“What did she say?” Dawson asked as he waited for the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen to pick up.
“Nothing.”
He squinted at me. “She likes me, though, yeah?”
“Everybody likes you.”
“So tell me, has anything changed with you, or do you still like your pizza the same way?”
“You’re asking? You normally don’t.”
“Well, I used to know everything, but I’ve been gone, as you keep pointing out, so instead of assuming, I’m checking.”
The new Dawson West, confident but also thoughtful, was hard to resist. “I like everything the same.”
“Everything, you say?”
“On pizza,” I replied, scowling at him.
He was chuckling before he gave all his attention to the person on the phone as he skillfully ordered precisely what the kids had told him and then, from memory, mine. It was impressive. I was terrible with food ordering. I always forgot something. But not Dawson.
When Georgine came back to the living room, where the very handsome, very dashing Seth Rafkin was waiting in his Hugo Boss suit—still a bit overwhelmed that Dawson West was in his friend’s house—all three of us gasped.
“Wow,” Dawson said softly, admiring the stunning woman in the navy-blue dress. “Someone should write a song about the way you look tonight.”
She smiled, reached out and took his hand, then turned to me. “Oh yes, I see the appeal. Feel free to keep him with my blessing.”
“That’s not helping,” I told her.
She shrugged, then turned to Seth. He took her hand in his and didn’t let go, and her answering smile was luminous. He worshipped her, and she adored him. I had no idea what they were waiting for.
“Hey,” Dawson said to Georgine, and tipped his head at Seth. “He’s good. Feel free to keep him with my blessing.”
Her flush was instant, but she looked at Dawson like maybe she understood something now. Sometimes it took someone different to open your eyes.
Seth and Georgine hugged and kissed their kids and thanked us. As soon as they were out the door, Henry and Cami turned to us. Dawson looked a bit concerned.
“The requests will commence now,” I explained with a chuckle.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Since I had his attention, he startled when he found both kids standing in front of him, staring.
“You two are freaking me out.”
“Would you teach me how to play the guitar too?” Henry asked.
Dawson’s eyes flicked to mine.
I only smiled.
“In for a penny,” he murmured.
I put my fingers on my temples. “I see you teaching small children how to hold chords during the winter break.”
“As long as you’re there with me, I’ve got no issues with that.”
“Wait, when did I get roped in?”
“Now,” he teased me as the kids ran to the kitchen to start getting their drinks ready. “We’re gonna be bound at the hip.”
And that didn’t sound too bad.
Later, after Georgine and Seth got back, her gushing about all the networking she’d done at the gala, Seth saying the same—everyone needed accounting help—Georgine sent us on our way. She needed some alone time with her date. They had things to discuss.
As we started walking, Dawson said, “I’d love to show you my new place.”
“I’ve already seen Simone’s loft a hundred times.”