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)
Dylan went to see her mother, and she and Chris took her to breakfast, then Chris’s mother, who they took to lunch, and then only later did she get to veg on her couch and watch Pride & Prejudice like she wanted and eat junk. As for us, we had a Mother’s Day celebration at our house for Sam’s mother and both of his sisters. Hannah and I cooked, and everything came out right, even with Jake helping.
Now I have to backtrack to Easter. We had everyone over so that Finn’s parents could meet Sam’s family and see that they weren’t the only ones with crazies. Unfortunately or fortunately, everyone was lovely. And since the police didn’t have to come, it was all a bit anticlimactic. Finn’s mother, Anne, caught me in the kitchen.
“Jory, it’s always so warm and lovely at your house.”
“Yours is the same, Anne,” I assured her. “You can hardly blame yourself for what happened at Eammon’s brother’s place.”
She huffed out a breath. “I am never cooking for his family again.”
“I wouldn’t either,” I agreed with her.
“Thank you,” she said, taking hold of my hand. “Everyone else keeps telling me to get over it and be the bigger person.”
I scoffed. “No. There would need to be sustained groveling for me even to consider it.”
Finn came into the kitchen just as his mother said, “I’ll see them in hell first.”
“Mom,” he gasped, glancing at her, then me, then her again. “You know you don’t mean it. You love them all.”
She squinted at him. I laughed.
“You both should be more forgiving,” he stated.
I smiled at him. “To err is human, to forgive is divine. Neither your mother nor I are divine.”
He looked a bit concerned when she cackled.
The Friday before Mother’s Day, I was home alone because Sam was out having dinner with his boss, and others, to discuss his office and who would be promoted when he retired, when Kola and Finn showed up.
I was sitting on the couch when I heard the back door open. Now, Sam was not pleased that I left it open, even when I was by myself, but the fact of the matter was, we lived in a very safe neighborhood. I knew all my neighbors, and honestly, why would someone pick the house with all the lights on? Our front porch light was on a timer, there were floodlights in the back, and our driveway was lined with lights that came on as soon as it got dark. It was not the house for shenanigans. Since Dobby yipped for joy and didn’t do his stranger-danger growl, I paused Four Seasons, that I was watching, turned and saw Finn wave before he hopped up on my kitchen counter and Kola strode toward me.
“Hello,” I greeted him as he bent and kissed my cheek. “What’s going on?”
“I was talking to Dad earlier today, and he told me you made chicken paella last night, and he said there was a lot left over. Since I love that, as you know, I’ve come to claim it before Dad gets home,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me.
“Love, your father is at dinner at a steakhouse. There’s no way he’s coming home and eating. I’m sure he’s having all the things I’ve banned, like a loaded baked potato and a ridiculously large steak.”
He chuckled and went back to the kitchen where, as he tried to walk by, Finn caught him between his legs. Kola leaned in and took Finn’s face in his hands and kissed him. It was very sweet, but when he pulled back, Finn nearly fell off his perch.
“Be careful,” he said, smiling at the man he loved.
“You’re so bru—boo—beautiful,” Finn murmured, and I couldn’t help smiling before I noted how out of it he looked.
Getting up, I walked into the kitchen, and when Finn saw me, his smile got bigger. “You raised an incredible man, Mr. Harcourt,” he sighed, and I saw that his eyes were watering.
“Thank you,” I told him and then glanced at Kola.
“What?” he asked, from where he was, now pulling things out of the refrigerator.
“Love, have you looked at Finn?”
He grinned at me. “Of course. He’s so pretty, I can’t help but look at him.”
“Yes, he is, but has he gotten any sleep?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“His eyes are watering and—where were you guys before this?”
“I just picked him up from a private event he was working downtown. One of the donors had Finn watching them play poker.”
“Poker?” I asked, walking back over to Finn, who couldn’t seem to stop smiling at me. “Is Finn supposed to be watching over people playing cards?”
“I think it had something to do with the event, but I’m not sure. And I don’t think Finn knows either.”
“You and Mr. Kage are relationship goals, sir,” Finn blurted out.
“Thank you,” I said gently, and held out my hand. “He wasn’t playing, was he?”