Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“Uncle Rush asked Miss Crosby Greene to dinner two days, and she said no.” Blakely gasps as if she can’t understand how Crosby could have said no. She has no idea. She just threw good old Uncle Rush to the wolves.
“Oh, he did, huh?” Declan asks.
“Yep.” Blakely is so damn proud of herself that I can’t even be mad about her outing me. She’s not lying. I did ask her for two different days, and I was shot down.
“All done.” Blakely shoves the last bite of pizza into her mouth.
“All right, you can go play. Wash your hands,” Declan calls after her. He waits until she’s out of earshot before addressing me. “Is there something going on with you and Crosby?”
“Nope.”
“She’s sweet,” Kennedy speaks up.
“She seems to be,” I agree.
“Let’s try this another way. What do you want to be going on with you and Crosby?”
Pushing my plate away from the table, I rest my elbows in its place, thankful our mom isn’t here to scold me, and bury my face in my hands. “I don’t know.” It’s the truth, and that irritates the hell out of me.
“Explain that.”
“She’s gorgeous. The day I met her, I thought immediately that she was one of if not the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s sweet as hell, and she’s a freaking kindergarten teacher, man. She’s one of those kinds of women you take home and introduce to Mom.” It’s not because she’s a kindergarten teacher, but she’s just so damn genuine, and what little I do know about her, I know that she’s someone you wife up, not hit and quit.
“Is that what you want? To introduce Crosby to Mom?” Declan asks. He’s not being an asshole. He’s genuinely trying to help me out here.
“I don’t know her.”
“But you want to?” Kennedy asks with hope in her voice.
I point at my sister-in-law, and she grins. “Don’t go getting any ideas in that pretty head of yours, Kennedy Kincaid. And don’t you dare rally the Kincaid ladies and try to set me up. From what I know of Crosby, she’s cool as hell. Her life hasn’t been easy, not that I know much, but what I do know is I think she’s skittish. Afraid to lower her walls.”
“Do you want her to lower them?” Kennedy asks in a sugary-sweet voice.
“I’d like to get to know her better.” I’ve said all along I’m not against falling in love and settling down, but I need to know with absolute certainty that the woman I choose is the right one. We need to fit like two missing pieces of a puzzle. Do I think that’s Crosby? I don’t know, and I won’t unless I can convince the woman to spend time with me.
“Palmer might have mentioned the two of you cuddled up on her couch.”
“Yeah, we were, but we fell asleep watching a movie. We just… ended up that way.” Not the complete truth, but not a lie either. It feels wrong to tell them she was sobbing, because I’m almost certain her tears were caused by more than just the sappy movie.
“She also said the two of you snuck out early the next morning,” Kennedy comments.
“We did. We decided to stay since it was the early morning hours when they got in. We were both up, so we left so I could drop her here to get her car and not interfere with Brooks and Palmer’s family time with Remi.”
That’s bullshit. I knew from the way that Crosby was acting that she was ready to get home. She was embarrassed about our night together, so I did what any gentleman would do. I took the lady to her car and thanked her for her help with my niece.
I lean back in my chair, waiting for the rest of my interrogation. Thankfully, it never comes. “I should get going,” I tell them. I stand and take care of the trash and place our glasses in the dishwasher.
“Thanks for today, Rush,” Declan says from the doorway of the kitchen. “It was nice to get a few hours of steady sleep.”
“Anytime you need me, you call.”
“Thanks. I’m going back to work on Monday, so I can handle dropping Blake off at school. Alyssa is going to pick her up each day, and she’s going to let her hang out with her until I’m ready to leave.”
“Sounds like a plan. You got my number.” I walk toward him and pull him into a hug. “You have a beautiful family, Dec.”
“Thank you.” He’s smiling. “I want this for you and for Archer, Ryder, and the twins.” He places his hand over his heart. “I know this is going to sound sappy, but I want you all to get to feel this kind of love, Rush. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”