Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“She likes elephants,” I blurted out, not entirely sure it if was true. However, there was an elephant on one of her bags and she also had a stuffed elephant.
“Jungle theme. I’ve got some cute ideas already.”
“Wait. You need to get Parker clothes and things as well.”
Patricia hummed softly. “Parker? Is this Daddy?”
“Yes, this is Joy’s father. He needs clothes, shoes…everything.”
“Sizes, darling. I need sizes.”
Growling, I carried Joy around the room as I searched for the clothes Parker had worn the previous day. I sifted through the pile on the floor, reading off the sizes to Patricia as I found them.
“What colors does he look best in?”
I opened my mouth but caught myself at the last second from blurting out that he looked good in everything. “He’s very tan and has dark brown hair with streaks of blond and pale-gray eyes,” I described. “He’s an artist and wears vibrant colors, but nothing too wild. Not boring like me.”
“Understood. Are you wanting a full wardrobe or enough to get him through the week?”
I wanted to say that she should get him a full wardrobe, but I had a feeling Parker would reject it. He couldn’t reject things for Joy. Not when she needed clothes and toys right now. “Maybe what he might need for the next few months. A bit of summer. Some fall. And then maybe things he can layer on for winter. Three suits to start.”
There was a long pause, and I realized what I’d told her. No, not a full wardrobe, but to please buy him clothes for three of the four seasons. Whatever. It didn’t matter. Parker was a single father and wouldn’t have time to go shopping for himself. At least not right away. This was saving him time and frustration.
“Now, suits are hard without having a complete set of measurements. I can get a couple of things off the rack. I’ll contact your tailor and send him to the house to take proper measurements. After that, it would be a week or so for him to whip up something.”
“That’s fine. See if you can schedule Aldo to come to the house on Friday. That will give me a chance to discuss it with Parker.” I didn’t know what Parker’s work plans were, but if he was aiming for another corporate position, suits were necessary.
“Got it. Anything else?”
“No. I will rely on your judgment as to what you believe Parker and Joy will need to be comfortable. I imagine they will stay with me for at least a week, if not longer, as they get their personal affairs in order.”
“Not a problem. We’ll make sure that princess and her father are taken care of by tonight.” Patricia ended the call, and I heaved a deep breath of relief.
I turned my attention to Joy and lifted one eyebrow. “What do you think?”
The baby thrust her fist in the air and shook it as she made a series of noises.
“Yes, Parker is going to be very upset with me. That’s why you need to help me convince him this is a good idea.”
Joy squealed and flashed me a big toothless grin. She liked this plan. If only I could count on her to give her father the same heart-melting smile, I’d be in the clear.
9
PARKER CAIN
Something was up.
And the worst part was that it felt like Joy was in on the conspiracy against me.
I’d finished my semi-productive calls and returned to find Declan walking around the room talking about proper investing for retirement while listing the pros and cons of traditional IRAs over Roth IRAs. Joy’s head had been resting on his shoulder, her eyes half closed and her little hand on his chin as his steady words lulled her into a late-morning nap.
However, as soon as I’d appeared in the doorway, Declan had stopped talking and Joy’d perked up, but she hadn’t released Declan. She’d clung to his chin as though she’d wanted to hear the rest of his recitation on retirement planning.
My suspicions had only grown after I’d announced I needed to run to the store to pick up a variety of supplies, and Declan had instantly offered to accompany me.
“I’m sure you’ve got better things to do with your day,” I’d countered, carefully taking my daughter from him.
“No. I have no plans. Wouldn’t it be easier if you had someone along to help you? To watch Joy? Plus, my SUV is bigger than your car.”
All good points. I hadn’t planned to get that much, but it would be nice if I had someone to watch Joy while I was loading the trunk.
So, an hour later, I was strolling through a grocery store, pushing a cart while Declan carried Joy. A high-end grocery store.
How did these things even exist? I mean, it was the regular local grocery store that had locations all around the city, but this one just looked and felt different. I half expected security to come along and kick me out because they recognized on sight that there weren’t the right kind of zeros in my bank account.