Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“You’re coming to the coffee shop with me?” Joey asked. There was a time when she was younger and used day care, but Adeline had hated it. She also didn’t like babysitters, and asked if she could she stay at the shop if she couldn’t hang out with grandparents. Joey didn’t like to see her sad, so she would be staying at the shop with her.
“So, there’s something I’ve got to tell you, and I don’t want you to be worried, or freak out, or anything like that, okay?” Joey asked.
“What is it, Mommy?”
Mom and Mommy, she loved when Adeline called her that.
“You know how some people have ... friends that come to sleep over?” Joey asked. She had no idea if she should call Axel a boyfriend. No one in their right mind would ever refer to Axel as boyfriend material. It was ludicrous to even think it. She didn’t want to call him a lover, so “friend” it was.
“Are you guys talking about me?” Axel asked, and stepped into the kitchen.
He wore the same clothes as he did last night, only he looked so good in them. Joey saw the surprise on Adeline’s face when she caught sight of Axel.
“I’m Axel Rules, and you are Adeline Sinclair, aren’t you?”
Adeline nodded. “Are you my mom’s boyfriend?”
“Adeline—”
“Yes,” Axel said at the same time. He wrapped his arm around Joey’s waist, pulling her in close.
She was just in shock, and had no way of coming off. She had expected Axel to be afraid of being referred to as a boyfriend.
“Do you like my mom?” Adeline asked.
“Yeah, I like your mom.”
“Do you love my mom?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” Axel said.
“I’m a kid. I need to.”
“So, what does everyone want for breakfast? Waffles? Pancakes? Eggs? Cereal?” And she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She tried to not get the two talking about their relationship.
Joey didn’t know what it was. It was sex. That was a guarantee.
Adeline opted for waffles. Axel went for the same, and Joey didn’t know if she was going to be able to stomach something quite so sweet. Either way, she started making the batter and putting it into the waffle iron. All the while, Adeline and Axel talked nonstop.
It was so lovely to see her daughter laughing and smiling. Although, she wouldn’t deny she was freaking out a little. It didn’t matter as it was going to be okay. That was what she kept telling herself.
After breakfast, Adeline and Axel shook hands as they left the house. Axel kissed her at the door of her car, and she knew the neighbors saw. She didn’t mind that they saw anything, and that they might be the subject of gossip. She wondered what this all meant.
Axel was not a man for getting caught at any woman’s house. He was usually gone before anyone ever realized he was there. It was just the women who spoke of their time with him that gave the game away.
Axel went to his work, and she drove to the coffee shop.
Adeline didn’t ask any questions. She had her reading book and coloring book. Joey wanted to ask her how she was feeling, and talk about Axel being there. At the same time, she didn’t want to make it such a big deal.
So, she got into work, closed and locked the door, and as she set up, Ashley called. Joey hadn’t expected her call.
“He stayed the night?” Ashley asked the moment she accepted the call.
“What?” Joey frowned. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Axel spent the night!”
“How do you know that?”
“Okay, news travels fast, and if you want to know who told me, talk to Mom. She was the one that told me, and she is a little nervous. I think you should be expecting an invite to Sunday dinner.”
“That is insane. Axel wouldn’t do that.”
“He wouldn’t?”
“It’s just ... sex.” She closed her eyes, and then immediately opened them and checked that her daughter wasn’t actually listening to her.
“And is the sex good?” Ashley asked.
She was so distracted. If her parents invited Axel to dinner, that was going to put a whole heap of stress on him and would make him run away.
“What do I do?” Joey asked.
“About what?”
“About our parents ruining this.” She gritted her teeth as she grabbed a cloth and wiped down the counter. Everything else was ready. All she had to do was get through this morning.
If Ashley and her parents knew, that could only mean half the town knew as well.
“Let’s be clear on something. Do you like Axel?” Ashley asked.
“Yes, I like him.”
“Do you see yourself with him long-term?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Yeah, you can. You and I both know you don’t do the casual sex thing, so on some level, you like Axel.”
“He never settles down. You know this, and you were the one that warned me.”