Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“But none of that is the real issue,” George said, “is it.”
Kola shook his head.
“It’s that she didn’t include him in her plans,” Sam concluded, “isn’t it?”
“Yes,” George stated flatly. “He thought that they were on the same page with big things. He didn’t think for a moment, ever, that she would blindside him.”
Kola nodded. “That’s the whole problem in a nutshell right there.”
After long minutes, I said, “What now?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah announced as she walked into the room. She looked stunning in a floral-embroidered floor-length evening gown. The main color was a pale gray with flowers that looked like they were on vines. It was dazzling, but she was not her usual radiant self. She was hurting, and it was obvious. “I’m planning on coming back here with my stuff after the event, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay,” Sam told her. “Never ask, just show up.”
She nodded, her eyes filling as she rushed over to her father, who stood up and wrapped her in his arms. “Jake needs space, so I’m going to give that to him, and this way everyone can have a break from me being a freight train in their lives.”
Harper exhaled sharply. “Don’t be dramatic. I didn’t mean it like––”
“It’s Jake’s word,” she said sadly, leaning against Sam. “I know you’re just repeating it, but it still hurts. And I know you all think I’m neurotic and loud, picky and a queen bee and laser focused on things that don’t matter to you, so yeah—we can all take a break.” She left Sam’s arms then and rushed over to Finn, taking his hand. “Except you, okay?”
He nodded, swallowing hard.
When Kola stepped toward her, she darted over to George, slipping her arm through his, leaning her head against him.
“Okay,” George said with a sigh. “Chief Deputy, Mr. Harcourt, we’ll see you in about four hours.”
“I’ll have tea ready,” I told my girl.
She was in front of me in seconds, and we hugged tight. And then without saying a word, she returned to George, as though he was her anchor, and walked out the door with him.
“Crap,” Kola muttered, turning to me.
“It’s okay that you took Jake’s side,” I told him. “And she is a freight train and everything else. But none of that bothers me. When she makes assumptions about what I will do for her—she’s always going to be right because she’s my girl. I suspect that people who are successful in their fields are annoying to other people because that drive can be a lot to take. I’m sure they’re judged as bossy and brash, just like your sister is. And this time she overstepped and made a mistake with Jake.”
“You don’t seem overly worried,” Kola said sulkily.
“I love Jake, and I will always know him no matter what. The fact of the matter is, even if he forgives her, this is still what she wants. She wants a baby. So who will be the one to give in? Does Hannah stop wanting a baby or does Jake say yes, let’s have one?”
“It feels like an impasse,” Sam told his son. “But maybe not. I just can’t see what the compromise looks like at the moment, but if they want to keep one another in their lives, then that’s what would have to happen.”
Kola suddenly bolted for the front door and was out of it fast, slamming it behind him, always conscious of the small dog that lived there that no one wanted to get out.
What was interesting was that I thought Hannah and George left already, but when I went to the front window, the Lincoln Town Car that Miguel used to drive—sleek, black, and loaded with extras like bulletproof glass—that his protégé was apparently driving now, had just cleared our driveway. Kola made it to the curb, and George pulled over. The passenger-side window came down, because of course Hannah was sitting up front beside her bodyguard, and Kola immediately crouched there.
He started talking, she was nodding and crying, no way to miss that, and Kola’s hands were holding on to the window frame. As I watched, he stood up, stepped back, and Hannah got out of the car, dress swirling around her, and she leaped at him, arms around his neck, squeezing tight. He held her just as tight, head turned, speaking into her ear.
Her hair had been up in a tight chignon, but as his hand went to the back of her head, it came loose. She was shuddering, and he was holding on.
“Crap,” Harper said dejectedly, and went out the front door.
“What is happening?” Wick asked me, standing beside me at the window.
“She’s a force of nature,” Sam told him. “So you have to ask yourself, is it worth it or not to have her in your life?”