Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Miles laughs, but it’s clear he’s laughing at himself. “Relationships are hard. I fell for the coach’s daughter—I’d know. But you have to communicate what you want. Do you want to spend Christmas with her?”
“I do, but I’ve made it too complicated now by not asking her. And now if I ask her, what if she’s not ready for…a trip with her boss and his kids? For fuck’s sake. Saying it out loud makes it sound ridiculous.”
Miles smirks. “Dude, you’re spiraling. You’re not asking her to be your girlfriend. You’re inviting her on a trip.”
Rowan shrugs. “If she says yes, she wants to go. That’s it.”
Miles moves next to me, claps my shoulder. “One step at a time. This isn’t a proposal. It’s a trip. Just tell her you fucked up and invite her.”
I grab my water bottle and down some. He’s right. This isn’t a grand romantic move—it’s what I should have done in the first place. Invite her to join us for the holidays. “That’s it?”
“Yep, that’s it.”
Miles turns to Rowan. “I bet even the Grinch would say it’s that easy.”
Rowan scoffs. “I’m the last person who should be giving you any romantic advice, but in this case? Just tell her the truth.”
That seems easy enough. This isn’t about putting a label on us. It’s about making sure she knows she’s wanted.
And as I’m leaving, I flash back to something Trevyn mentioned the day I met him. Something Sabrina would love to do in New York. And just like that, I know—this isn’t just something I should do. It’s something I want to do. Something I want to do with her and the kids. Something she’d want too.
I leave the weight room, and I text her to see what she’s up to, trying to figure out if now might be a good time to call.
A few minutes later, she texts back.
Sabrina: I’m OK! I wanted to let you know that Parker isn’t feeling well. I picked him up from school early, and he’s got a fever, but he’s going to be fine! He’s taking Tylenol, and we’re cuddled up together watching cartoons.
I call her stat.
34
NURSE KITTEN
Tyler
“Hey little buddy. How’s it going?”
“I’m okay, Dad,” Parker answers, his voice a little froggy and a little sad. I pace down the hall of the corridor at the Seattle Arena, my phone pressed tight to my ear.
“I heard you’re not feeling so hot,” I say, rounding the corner. I just called Sabrina for the update—it’s a flu-like bug that’s going around, she told me. Some of the other kids at school have it.
“Actually, I am a little bit hot,” Parker says, then forces out a laugh at his own joke. I manage a small smile, relieved he’s retained his sense of humor. “I’m one hundred two.”
“That’s no fun. I wish I were there,” I say, and my heart hurts since it’s eight hundred miles away from here in San Francisco, with my little boy.
“Me too,” he says, then coughs, before saying in a softer voice, “Sorry, Sabrina.”
“It’s okay. Coughing is fine,” she replies, her voice easy to hear. She must be right next to him on the couch. And my heart squeezes a little more, knowing she’s there with him.
“But we get to watch Space Dogs,” Parker tells me, managing to sound a little upbeat. “Sabrina found it from YouTube, and it’s funny, and the science mostly makes sense, so it’s not that bad. Also, I want to talk to you about the science of Santa sometime soon,” he says, but his voice fades and he coughs again. “But not right now. Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too,” I say, my chest hurting, full of longing and the wish to be there and take care of him.
A few seconds later, there’s a rustling on the phone, then Sabrina’s voice. “Hey, it looks like he’s going to snuggle up under a blanket for a nap,” she says, then pauses. “Wait. Spoke too soon. Be right back.”
I stare at the phone and the line that went dead. My pulse spikes and panic grips me, hard and cold. I pace down the hall, then tap out a quick text to Sabrina—What’s going on?—but before I can send it, my phone rings. This time it’s Luna. I swipe it so fast. “What’s going on?”
“Dad, it’s me. I’m upstairs. Like, literally at the top of the stairs and I’m watching them downstairs. But don’t worry, I have a mask on because I really don’t want to get sick, because I don’t want to miss Secret Santa, and Sabrina already helped take me shopping for Secret Santa,” she says, and I want to say speed it up, but I don’t want to be rude. “But anyway, she just called up to me and said Parker is barfing but don’t worry. He’s almost done barfing.”