Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Are there any you like?”
He leaned against the counter. “There are four so far of the nine that originally came in that I don’t hate, but more keep coming because, being in Chicago, we need people just like the other big cities.”
“Four is good,” I replied cheerfully. “That’s not a bad ratio.”
“Did you hear the part where I said more are coming because we can’t seem to keep enough?”
What people failed to note was that the marshals’ office never closed. There was always someone in the office to answer the phone and people on call to go out in the middle of the night or in the wee small hours of the morning. In Chicago, Sam always had two guys, a set of partners, work the swing shift once a week so whatever happened during the day, there wouldn’t just be guys coming in for second shift who never heard of that witness or whatever had been going on. Because yes, notes were left in files, and important items were put on a whiteboard and on the computer, but things could still get missed without actual people being there. He was very careful and hated there to be any breakdowns in communication ever.
“I think you need to celebrate your victories.”
He grunted, and then said, “So who’s coming over tomorrow?”
“We’re having Finn’s family, his brothers that we missed on St. Patrick’s Day, his parents, Anne’s sister, Theresa, who’s visiting from San Antonio with her husband…whose name escapes me, and their son, Bryce.”
“You remember the son’s name, but not the father’s?”
“Of course.” I always remembered the names of children, just as I expected people to remember the names of mine. That was just good manners.
“How many brothers does Finn have?”
“Two.”
“Eight people?” he said, like that was the worst news ever.
“Yes, dear.”
“And I’m grilling?”
I nodded.
“What about our kids?”
“Well, of course Kola will be here.”
“What about Jake and Harper?”
“Jake yes, because Hannah will be here, because she’s helping me cook. Harper is doing something with Wick, who I don’t think wants to come over here.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I think he’s traumatized from playing Monopoly with you and your hell spawn.”
“What? That was a nice friendly game. We haven’t had one of those in a while.”
“To you, I’m sure it was.”
“Meaning?”
I crossed my arms, tipped my head, and stared at him.
“People need to be made of stronger stuff.”
“Yes, dear.”
“I miss seeing Harper.”
“Well, Wick is a serious boyfriend, and technically, Harper is not your kid.”
“I don’t like it. He lives with Kola and Jake, so he sees them, but now we don’t see him?”
“People grow up and pair off. You have to realize that you’ll see much less of Harper.”
“I don’t like it,” he repeated.
“I know, but you’ll get to see Aja tomorrow, at least for a bit, because she promised to make her macaroni and cheese.”
Sam’s face brightened. “Will she be staying?”
“Were you listening to me? I said she was coming over for a bit. I help her when she has dinner parties, so she’s returning the favor.”
“Why doesn’t she invite us to her dinner parties?”
I squinted at him.
“Well?”
“You despise dinner parties,” I reminded him.
Another grunt from him, this time in agreement.
“Aja and Dane do a lot of entertaining, but we don’t go because of you.”
“I don’t like being places where I don’t know everybody.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You could go,” he offered.
I scowled at him that time.
“Yeah, all right.”
“You don’t like me to do that, and I agree. We should do things together.”
“I enjoyed going to that play last weekend in Highland Park at that little community theater. It was fun.”
“And next weekend we’re going on an art walk.”
He made a face.
“It will be fun, and Aaron and Duncan are going as well.”
“Oh, okay,” he said, smiling. “That’s fine.”
I groaned.
“I’m just—you don’t get it because you’re great with people. You always have, like, a million questions on the tip of your tongue to get strangers talking.”
I was a sap for him praising me. I loved it.
“That’s why when I have to go to those parties with the mayor or when my boss comes to town or other stuff, I like you right there with me.”
Reaching for his shoulder, I pulled him down to me so I could kiss his cheek. “You’re very sweet, you know that?”
More grunting.
“But listen, you like Eammon. I’m sure he’ll be right there with you by the grill.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You’re very charming when you want to be.”
The look I got made me laugh. Clearly, he did not believe me.
Aja got there later than expected, just after two, and apologized for looking terrible.
“Are you kidding?” I grumbled.
“No, I’m—why?”
“You look amazing.”
She smiled and gave me a dismissive wave, but really, she was being ridiculous.
Her hair was tied up in a Chanel scarf, she had her glasses on, when normally she wore contacts, and she had put on some mascara and lip balm to leave her house. Normally, she was flawless and looked like she could have gone from work to walk a runway in Paris. Today, she was doing the effortlessly down-to-earth, rolled-out-of-bed, naturally beautiful thing. I would have been jealous if I didn’t love her. Aja was one of those women who just glowed. No amount of stress or lack of sleep could dim her light. What was interesting was her minimalist jewelry as well. All she had on were gold hoops and her skating rink of an engagement ring and the matching wedding band, but she looked as good as other women who were dripping with diamonds.