Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Kay wasn’t driving,” Brad assured me.
“I’m sure he wasn’t, but it still bothers Sam that he was intoxicated and––”
“You don’t think it bothers us?” Brad snapped at me.
“I didn’t mean to imply that at all,” I said as Hannah joined me, leaning into my side.
“Hannah,” Anne began with a deep sigh, “I keep making mistakes where you’re concerned. I certainly had no idea that you were hosting a fundraising gala at the Waldorf with Aaron Sutter. A girl like you knowing a billionaire never crossed my––”
Hannah gasped loudly, which was good because it kept me from growling.
“A girl like my daughter?” I said icily, bristling.
“That’s not—she meant someone common,” Brad replied sharply. “Hannah’s not from a family like––”
The door opened, which startled everyone, and Jake was there.
“Oh sorry,” he said quickly before he looked at Hannah. “Before your brother eats what’s left of the epic burritos your dad made, do you want one, B?”
Her face lit up when she saw him, and I saw how soft his eyes got as he gestured for her.
Rushing over to him, she hit him hard, wrapping her arms around his waist, and he drew her close, his face in her hair. I watched her melt against him as he pressed her close.
“So,” I said, turning back to Kay’s parents, who had no idea how much they were going to miss the light that was my girl in their lives. “We’ll talk soon.”
“Jory, I––”
“Another time, Anne,” I said briskly as Jake let Hannah go, took her hand in his, and led her into the house. I followed behind, wished the Holmes clan a good night, and closed the door behind me.
Sam was rummaging around in the refrigerator, Kola was sitting on the counter eating a burrito as Harper heated the grilled chicken in a pan, and Jake was building Hannah a burrito while she stood beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
I joined my husband as he was squatting, searching the third shelf.
“The peach cobbler is gone. Your son had it for breakfast.”
“Aww, man,” he grumbled, not standing, raking his fingers through his thick hair instead.
“I can make you a chocolate cream pie if you want. I have everything here, but you have to wait a bit.”
He looked up at me with such longing that I smiled at him. “Get the game going, and I’ll start on the pie.”
“No,” he groaned after a moment. “That’s mean to make you do that. You’ve been working all day too, not just––”
“I love to make things for you, and the kids will eat it too.”
His stage whimper was adorable as he rose above me and then bent to kiss me.
“Reward before I start, is that smart?” I teased him.
He kissed me again and then closed the refrigerator and walked me into the laundry room. “Harper is staying here instead of going home to meet Jeremy.”
“Blowing off Jeremy to settle Cataan?”
“Yep,” Sam told me.
“Huh.”
“And your daughter is stuck to Jake like a remora.”
“Yes, I saw that.”
Sam cleared his throat. “I don’t want Harper to get hurt, and I want him to make good choices, because what he wants and what Kola wants are vastly different.”
“Did you tell Harper that?” I asked him.
“I did.”
Of course he had. Sam worried about all the boys. “And is he okay?”
“He misses Kola more than he wants to be with Jeremy, so…there’s that. Eventually they’re going to need to have a real conversation, though.”
“I agree. What did you and Hannah talk about upstairs?”
“I got the play-by-play on how she found Kay in the coatroom with the girl he told Hannah he had to escort, but who he wasn’t into.”
“Will Hannah forgive him?”
“I think Hannah might use this as an excuse to take the plunge with Jake.”
I stared up into my husband’s face. “How do we feel about that?”
“Jake found the leak in the seam of the window. We no longer have water coming in.”
“So because he’s handy, you want him for your girl?”
“He’s handy, and we both know she’s been crazy about him since she was old enough to have a crush.”
“True,” I agreed.
“If it doesn’t work out, it’s gonna be awkward around here, because Jake isn’t going anywhere, and I’m keeping Hannah.”
I chuckled, and he grabbed me and kissed me.
“So we’re okay with it all.”
“We’ll keep an eye on it,” he told me.
“What did you say to Hannah upstairs?”
“That I could make Kayden Holmes disappear if she wanted.”
“Sam!”
“What? We both know, between me and Aaron, it would be like that kid was never born.”
“So horrible,” I scolded him. “Hannah will break a heart someday too, you know. So will Kola.”
“Hannah yes, probably, but Kola will inform them, in writing, thirty days before he even starts thinking that maybe he’s contemplating a change.”
I nodded, because yes, that sounded just like my son.
“Can you make pie now?”