Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I laughed.
“Anything else?”
“Four-letter word for a flightless bird.”
“Kiwi.”
She offered me a smile. One so genuine and warm, my breath caught in my throat.
“You’re good.”
She frowned as she wrote it in the book. I couldn’t take seeing her in pain anymore.
“Can I help?”
She looked up. “What?”
“We can do it together. I’ll fill in the words, so you don’t hurt your hand writing.”
“Oh.” She offered me the pen. “Okay.”
I shut the laptop and moved my chair closer. Our shoulders touched, and as I leaned over the book, Skylar’s hair fell over her shoulder, the soft ends brushing my hand. I knew if I turned my head slightly, I would be able to bury my nose into her thick tresses. Strangely enough, it was exactly what I wanted to do.
“Pencil.”
Her voice startled me out of my thoughts. “What?”
“Number six across. Pencil.”
“Right.”
I filled it in and then quickly did seven, eight, and ten across.
“Hey!”
“Sorry.”
“Fourteen is Egypt.”
I grinned. “Sixteen is bookshelf.”
She huffed and reached for a red pen, putting a small check mark by fourteen and six.
“What’s that for?”
“Well, if you’re just going to randomly start filling out my crossword, I want to be able to take credit for the ones I did.”
Take credit?
“Oh, is that how it is?”
“Yep.”
“Game on, Kitten.”
When Sean entered the kitchen, he stopped short at the sight of us. Skylar was tucked under my arm, wrapped in a blanket I’d given her since she was still cold. She looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen her and almost goofy. We were both laughing, calling out numbers and words. I was attempting to fill in the squares and stop Skylar from marking off every clue as her own. She even cheated at games, it seemed. She couldn’t behave at all.
“Well, it’s nice to see you two getting on so well.”
Skylar rolled her eyes. “He cheats.”
“I cheat? Miss-let-me-check-off-every-word Cheater?”
“I got all those words!”
“Did not! You just took advantage of my having to write them all!”
“You kept covering up the words so I couldn’t see them!”
Sean started to laugh. “So mature, both of you.” He went over to the refrigerator. “Drink?”
“Skylar likes Coke—with ice. She won’t drink it all, so I’ll finish hers.”
Arching his eyebrow at me, he handed me the glass and Coke. I opened it and poured some for her, sliding the glass her way.
She smiled. “Thank you.”
I finished what was left in the can in three long swallows. She sipped at her drink a couple times, then pushed the glass my way and stood. “I think I’m going for a nap now, if that’s okay.” With an exaggerated wink, she handed me her pen. “All accounted for, Cian?”
Laughing, I took it from her. “Yep. All good.”
Sean sat down. “Dinner will be in a couple of hours. Would you like to eat with us?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, we’ll come get you.”
Looking shy suddenly, she left the room. I watched her go down the hall, her door closing softly.
I picked up her glass to finish it and caught his eye.
“What?”
“You two looked cozy.”
“She was cold. I gave her my socks.”
“Not what I meant.”
“We were just having a bit of fun.”
“When’s the last time you had ‘a bit of fun,’ Cian?”
I frowned. “It’s no big deal.”
“You certainly seem to know her preferences. Coke…ice…only part of the can.”
“I’ve been watching her.”
“Uh-huh. A lot.”
“Making sure she’s okay.”
“Sure.”
“Drop it,” I growled.
He stood and went to the counter, grabbing a pan. “Whatever, boss.”
I glared at his back.
Then, before I could stop myself, I opened my laptop and checked on Skylar. She was curled up on the bed, still wrapped in the blanket I had draped over her earlier.
I wondered briefly if she needed another one. When I heard Sean snicker behind me, I closed the lid and flipped him off. If she did, she’d ask.
Dinner was peaceful. No throwing of plates or name-calling happened, making it almost…boring. Skylar ate her dinner, thanked Sean, and even smiled at me when she asked for the salt. Under my watchful eye, she carried her plate to the sink and insisted on helping Sean by drying the dishes. I accounted for every utensil, slightly shocked she didn’t even attempt to pocket anything.
After it was done, we went into the living room, all of us drinking coffee. Skylar opened her book again, and covertly, I watched her for a few minutes. I found it fascinating how she seemed to lose herself in the words on the pages in front of her. Her entire posture changed, becoming relaxed and fluid. Her facial expressions mirrored whatever was happening in the book at that moment—a small smile would pull at her lips or they would form into a small O when something surprised her. She would frown or grimace—it was endless. And utterly adorable.
I looked over, noticing Sean studying me, and quickly, I glanced away. Leaning over, I grabbed my laptop, deciding to study the files Frank had sent over instead of Skylar. I was missing something, and I needed to figure out what that something was. It was a good way to stop staring at Skylar as well.