Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
She smells like vanilla, and I nuzzle her close as she giggles for me. When I pull back, her eyes meet mine as she moves her hands. Dede said I’m your biggest fan. I am, Daddy. I really am.
Okay, I can’t cry, can I? Emotion is thick in my throat as I nod. I know, malyshonuk. I love your jersey.
She does a little turn like she’s in a tutu rather than a too-big IceCats jersey. It’s yours, Daddy. See your number?
Tears burn in my eyes as I nod proudly. I see it.
She beams only for me, her little teeth making it real hard to pull in breath after breath. When Ingrid comes up behind her, snatching her up in her arms, Arwen laughs loudly, and then Ingrid does the same. God, can I get a break? I smile at my sister, and she gives me a coy one back. Almost like she wants to smile at me but she’s worried to do so. I don’t want to think that she’s trying to avoid smiling at me, but I can’t shake the feeling I’m right.
Next thing I know, everyone is clearing out, and I’m left with the girl of my dreams. She leans into the counter, looking everywhere but at me. “Why are we being left alone?” I ask, and when she drags that bottom lip between her teeth, I add, “Not that I’m complaining.”
She gives me a small smile and says softly, “We apparently have a lot to talk about.”
“According to them?”
“I mean,” she says with a shrug, “I have to agree.”
I nod, leaning my hip to the island. “They can hear us.”
“I know,” she says.
“No, we can’t,” Ingrid calls, and I roll my eyes. “Half of us are deaf!”
I can’t help but snort at that while Audrina shakes her head, laughing. God, she’s so beautiful when she laughs. I take the spot beside her, leaning back on the counter so that her shoulders touch my bicep. I cross my ankles and tuck my hands into my pockets to keep from touching her. My heart is a mess in my chest as I say, “I’m leaving this Monday.”
She nods. “I know. Maeve told me.”
“Will you be okay?”
A smile pulls at her lips. “I’ll survive, I’m sure.”
I won’t, not that I tell her that. Instead, I ask, “You remember Nico and Aviva, right?”
I swear I can see her pulse in her neck. I want to kiss it. Suck on it. But then, why is she so nervous? I’m only asking about our friends. “Of course.”
“Well, they’re having a party for their youngest’s birthday this weekend, and we’re invited.”
“You mean, you were invited.”
“Sure, but you and Arwen are an extension of me,” I say, and that has her looking up at me, her face almost white as her eyes plead with mine.
“Are we now?”
“Yeah,” I say simply, and she exhales.
I guess she’s not in the mood to fight the inevitable, and she asks, “Do they know about us?”
“Absolutely.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I got back in contact with you and found out we had a kid together.”
Her eyes widen. “So now, everyone not only thinks I’m a whore, but also a whore who hid your kid.”
I hold her gaze. “Let someone say something like that about you, and they’ll have an appointment with the dentist on Monday.”
Her face flushes, her eyes dilating as she gazes up at me. “Thatcher, you can’t expect me to go with you.”
“I do, actually.”
“I’ll be so embarrassed.”
“Why? Nothing of the past matters. Only that we came to the party and brought our little girl. Oh, and a gift. We’ll have that.”
She looks unsure of herself as she shifts her gaze away from me. “There you go with that ‘we’ again.”
“At least you’re not denying it,” I say with a smirk, which she glares at.
“I planned to do just that.”
I wink at her. And no matter how hard she tries to keep them still, her lips curve up. “Sure, you were.”
She looks away again, shaking her head as a scowl comes over her face. “I don’t know, Thatcher.”
“Please,” I ask softly. “I want to show you guys off.”
She scoffs at that. “I’m not worth—”
“Don’t do that,” I interrupt, my heart in my throat. “Don’t say that. You know it’s not true, and if I made you feel like that, then my next question, you just need to say yes to.”
Her brows pull in, her lips pursing as she kicks at the marble floor. “What?”
“I’d like to take you out, if you’ll let me.”
I watch her shoulders go taut, and I know she’s chewing on the inside of her lip. “It’s probably for the best. For us to talk in private.”
I don’t like that at all. “I don’t want it to be for the best. I want you to want to go to spend time with me.”