Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77611 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77611 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
His kids like me, though. And Win’s life is here.
I could make that life easier. Get the name of the man who’s been harassing him and end that asshole’s career. I could make sure he and his friends eat something other than frozen meals and takeout. I could be with him, if he’d let me. Whenever he’d let me.
Would that be enough, when this is what I really want? He and I, together alone, somewhere without distractions. Somewhere I can watch him fall asleep every night, safe in my arms.
I open the bedroom door and head for the stairs, only to pause on the landing. The kitchen where Win and I danced and baked and teased each other yesterday is now entirely too crowded. Bellamy and Jake stand around the island with Win, who’s plating… Did he cook breakfast?
Jake fills the silence easily, the way he always does. “She was adamant. It took me hours to explain that this is Grandma and Grandpa’s special anniversary, and not everyone knows the songs from an animated movie about singing demon hunters. Especially not one that just came out.”
“I do,” Win says unsurprisingly. “My classroom was obsessed with it before I left. They’re catchy songs. But I don’t think everyone would appreciate them. Tell her we can sing one or two of them together between sets.”
“You’ll be her new favorite person,” Bellamy bemoans. “Like I was, when she used to like Beauty and the Beast. But that’s ‘kid stuff’ to her now.”
“She’s a teenager,” Jake says. “She’ll love it again later. When she’s done hating everything her parents like on principle.”
“Tale as old as time.” Win’s words make them laugh for some reason, and I frown as I walk down the stairs, feeling out of the loop since I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Jake is suggesting Win meet their cousin’s partner Oliver, who he’s saying is some kind of professional dancer, when the dogs notice me. They race toward the bottom of the stairs as if it’s been thirty years instead of thirty minutes since I took them outside. When I squat down to give them a scratch, Mad leaps for the towel I was taking to the laundry room and steals it away, dragging it deeper into the living room for a victory lap.
“Hey, Uncle,” Jake calls. “Come taste this. It’s delicious.” He called me uncle almost as soon as he met me. He makes a point of it, just accepting me into the family. He’s a great kid.
A man, not a kid, I remind myself. Twenty-two with two college degrees and the same kind of steady, loving personality I noticed in his father. Penny, Wes and the boy they call Little Sean all idolize him, and I can understand why.
Even Win seems to like him, because he’s beaming at the kid, which simultaneously darkens my mood and makes me feel like a jealous heel.
When I move closer, Win hands me a plate, staring at my shoulder instead of into my eyes. Why isn’t he looking at me? Is something wrong?
“It smells good,” I offer gruffly.
He shrugs off the compliment. “It’s nothing like the feast you made yesterday, but it’s going to be a long day, so I thought I’d handle breakfast.”
“Thank you.”
I hate that there are people watching and he seems as uncomfortable and grumpy as I am. I wanted more time with him before this happened. I lean against the kitchen counter instead of joining the others at the island, then take a bite.
The moan escapes unintentionally. It is delicious. And comforting. And Win made it for me before these two showed up and forced me to share.
“Told you,” Jake says immediately. “I want the recipe.”
“It’s just eggs and leftovers, a few spices and—”
“Dancing?” Bellamy interrupts with a wry curve to his lips. “Is that part of the recipe? Because we caught some of that show before you noticed us.”
Win was dancing to that music I heard upstairs?
He turns red and I find myself wanting to punch the other Demir in the room for witnessing a moment I missed. “Leave him alone.”
Bellamy and I glower at each other in silence until Win chuckles.
“Yeah, okay I definitely see the resemblance now.”
“Right?” Jake snorts. “Dad knew right away, but it wasn’t until I saw them side by side and they both frowned that I caught it. There’s no denying they’re brothers.”
“I’ve never denied it,” Bellamy mutters under his breath. “I just needed a minute to get used to the idea.”
The ensuing silence stretches until Win breaks it. “You said you wanted to talk to Michael about something before we head over to the lodge?”
“It’s family business, isn’t that right?” I say with a hard look at Bellamy. “About the texts I sent last night?”
He nods. No doubt that’s why he’s in the rescue party instead of Brady or Connor. He wants to confront me about them without his husband or family around. I wonder if he’ll deny it, or excuse his cousin’s actions.