Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“Or you two could have dinner with us,” I suggest, and she gives me a look that shows clearly that she is less than pleased with the invite.
“Dad makes the best tacos,” Coop tells her.
“Can we?” Zuri asks, and she stares at her for a long moment before she looks at me and sighs.
“Yeah, all right,” she agrees reluctantly.
“Awesome.” Coop grins while Zuri smiles.
“How about you two go get the tortillas, then meet us back here?”
“Sure.” Coop says hopping off the cart and Zuri squeezes under Nalia’s arm to go follow him.
“On a scale of one to ten, how annoyed are you?” I ask when the kids are halfway down the aisle and out of earshot.
“Why would I be annoyed?” Her gaze meets mine. “I mean, it’s not like you’re intentionally asking me about things with the kids around, so I feel like I don’t have a choice but to say yes.”
“You always have a choice, baby.”
“Do I?”
“I’m not holding you hostage.” It’s a lie. I am, and worse, I’m using Zuri and Coop as my unknowing accomplices. Do I care? Not even a little. I like being around her, I like looking at her, and I like the sound of her voice, even when she’s annoyed like she is right now. I really like the way she smells—like vanilla and some kind of spice—and the fact that I now know she tastes sweet like those gummy worms that she’s always eating. And how soft her lips are is not just something I’ve made up in my head.
“If I had said no, both Zuri and Cooper would be disappointed.”
“Probably.” I shrug
“See.” She widens her eyes. “You left me no choice but to say yes.”
“Again, you always have a choice, baby, but maybe you didn’t want to say no either.”
“I…” She starts to open her mouth but the sound of the kids running up behind us has her mouth snapping shut.
“We got the tortillas, and we also found Dorito shells.” Coop holds up the box. “Can we get them?”
“Sure,” I say, and he tosses the box in the cart, then proceeds to hop onto the front of it while Zuri scoots back under Nalia’s arm so that she can ride in front of her.
We finish picking up the rest of the stuff that we need for dinner, and I grab a couple other things I needed for the house and head to the checkout line where both kids start to unload the cart.
As I’m using my card to pay, Coop shouts, “Mom!” and I look up to find Kristy walking into the store. When she sees Coop, who has run over to greet her, she smiles brightly, then looks my way as his arms wrap around her. Her smile slips ever so slightly as her eyes ping from me to Nalia and Zuri, and I see something filter through her gaze that looks a little like hurt before she turns her attention back to Coop and presses a kiss to the top of his head.
I finish paying, take my receipt from the girl who had checked us out and walk behind Nalia and Zuri towards the sliding doors where Kristy and Coop are waiting for us off to the side and out of the way of traffic.
“Hey,” Kristy greets Nalia before her gaze moves to Zuri and the stitches above her brow. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay,” Zuri tells her softly, moving closer to Nalia’s side.
“Good.” She focuses on Coop, who is still hugging her. “How was school?”
“Alright.” He shrugs. “Boring.”
“Really, and let me guess, you didn’t learn anything either.” She laughs when he shrugs with a grin. “Whatever, dude.” She kisses the side of his head, then looks at me. “Are you guys headed home?”
“Yeah, just had to stop in and get a few things and the stuff for tacos.”
“Awesome.” She focuses back on Coop. “Call me tonight before you go to bed.”
“Okay.” He tells her, and then she looks between all of us.
“Have a good night.”
“You too,” I mutter, hearing Nalia say the same before Kristy tells Coop she loves him and walks off with her cart.
A few minutes later, when we pull up out front of the house, the kids get out and start to run inside, but I quickly call the two of them back to get their backpacks.
“Can we play upstairs?” Coop asks, taking his bag along with a bag of groceries, I pass him from the trunk.
“How about you guys do homework first?” Nalia suggests before I can say the same thing.
“Ugh.” Coop groans.
“We don’t have that much homework,” Zuri tells him, taking one of the shopping bags without me handing it over to her.
“Yeah, but we have to read for fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes isn’t even that long.” Zuri takes her bag from me and rolls her eyes, making me laugh. It’s something Billie has done often when her brother is being annoying.