Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
And why that idea made my shoulders want to slump wasn’t something I was going to pick at, I decided, as the voices coming from the kitchen got louder with every step.
I stopped walking and felt Henri’s arm brush mine when he did the same. His expression was concerned. “What is it?”
“Why are there a bunch of people in the kitchen?”
His eyebrows drew together. “I’ve been wondering that.”
“But you have an idea?”
He shrugged, but his face didn’t come across all that casual.
I held Duncan a little tighter. “No one’s here to try and tell me to leave, are they?”
His focus went over my head. “I doubt it.”
Dang it.
Weight landed on the back of my neck, and Henri tipped his head close, so close I could see the dark ring between his pupil and much lighter iris. “What did I tell you already? I’m not going to let anyone mess with you. Either of you.” The hand on my neck slid down to land between my shoulder blades. “Are we clear?”
I nodded.
“You haven’t done anything wrong,” he reminded me, apparently knowing I needed to hear that.
I nodded again, turning my attention back toward the kitchen doorway; the pressure on my shoulders got a little heavier.
“Nina, look at me.”
I did.
Did he have to be this intensely good-looking? Some people won the genetic lottery, and Henri had somehow scored a record-breaking Powerball that I didn’t exactly struggle to pay attention to.
“You haven’t done anything wrong,” he insisted, lowering his face just a little more.
I knew that, but did everyone else?
Henri looked at me for another minute before he blew out a slow, minty breath and touched my forearm. “Let’s see what’s happening in there. Together.”
When his hand didn’t fall away, I let the presence of it soothe me as we made it to the kitchen. Duncan’s nose started twitching, and I could hear him smelling the air. His tail went so, so still but the color didn’t change.
There were men. A lot of them. A couple were seated at one of the islands, two more leaned against cabinets, and three were in the process of cooking, Randall being one of them. On second glance, I realized one of the two at the island was Dom.
And they were all focused in our direction.
I hadn’t even realized I was backing up until I stepped on Henri’s toes, and whispered, “Save the baby.”
“What?” He got even closer to me. I could’ve sworn I felt his lip graze the shell.
“Take Duncan,” I repeated, tilting my head to look at him.
I wasn’t joking, but he must’ve thought I was when he got squinty. Before I could insist I was being serious, he eyed the room over my head, and then asked in a huskier voice than normal, “What’s all this?”
A chorus of “hey” and “hello” answered us, but I didn’t miss how some of the men stirred as they glanced between each other.
Did they seem uncomfortable all of a sudden or was it my imagination?
“We’re here for dinner,” a man with tan skin answered, smiling so wide and excessively welcoming, I scooched even closer to Henri, until I was basically tucking myself under his armpit.
A noise that sounded an awful lot like a growl vibrated through the chest beside my ear.
At the range, Randall held up his hands. “I told them to go home.”
I should have been pleased that people—men—were finally being polite enough to come visit instead of being nonexistent before this, but I couldn’t. No, sir, I could not. This was way too convenient.
Why now?
But if there were negative feelings in the room, Henri would’ve been able to sense them, and so would Duncan. My donut wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, just resting in my arms, casually taking in the room. Nothing bad seemed to be setting his radar off.
And since they’d all been polite and greeted us… I lifted my hand. “Hi,” I called out.
More “hi” and “hellos” echoed around the room in a range of deep voices, but it was Dominic who stood up and called out my name like we were old friends. “Nina?”
This asshole had been in my face not too long ago. He’d also punched Henri, the kids had nothing but terrible things to say about him, and he was basically not going to be on my Christmas list in this lifetime or the next. But I also didn’t want to start crap, so I said, “Yes…?”
“You and your answers that sound like questions…,” Henri muttered under his breath. I would’ve glanced at him, but I had my eyes on our mutual enemy across the room. Agnes’s biological dad.
“I’ve decided I like that you didn’t back down from me,” Dom proclaimed, smoothing his thumb and index finger along the sides of his mouth.
I stared at him. What did he want me to do? Thank him?