Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“I brought caramel fudge brownies for dessert,” Darby says, rescuing me from more questions about why I don’t remember Easton riding his bike into the lake.
“I have vanilla ice cream in my car,” Indie offers.
“Wait, it’s not melting?” Ivy asks. “You should have brought it in.”
“I have a freezer in my car,” Indie clarifies. “Ice cream is my business, remember?”
“Fancy,” Darby says. “And yes, please. That’s perfect.”
Ava sits next to me and sighs. “Your memory is bad, X.”
“Yeah, well.” What else am I supposed to say to that? No shit, it’s bad.
“Do I need to be more worried than usual?” she asks casually.
“No. I’m okay. I need a favor.”
“Changing the subject, I see.”
I laugh and she rolls her eyes.
“Fine. What do you want?”
I glance over at Ivy. She’s holding Belle again, and fuck. My heart. I don’t want kids. At least, I never have before. Not once in my life did I ever consider wanting a family of my own. Because women don’t hang around, and I don’t want to be a single dad like my father. It’s hard as fuck.
And then I had to go fall in love and see my girl holding an infant, and now my stupid, jumbled brain is coming up with all kinds of ideas.
“Xander, I’m not a mind reader.”
“I need the east-facing bedroom with all the windows converted into an art studio. I want the best supplies in there, and I want it to be fancy.”
My sister blinks up at me, and I can see the sarcasm coming from a mile away. “You’re taking on a new hobby? Are you that bored?”
“No, jerkface, Ivy paints. And her piece-of-shit mother destroyed every piece of work she’s done. They’re all gone, and she’s sad. I want her to have a space for it here so she can do it whenever she wants.”
She narrows her eyes and nibbles on her bottom lip. “That’s a lot of work and expense for a temporary studio. Just let her set up an easel and her stuff in the dining room. There’s a ton of light in there, and you never use it.”
“It’s not temporary.”
Now she turns in her seat, fully facing me. “It’s not.”
“Nope. She’s mine. So she needs a studio. And I want it to be a surprise. We’re going out of town later this week for the charity gala in Denver. Is five days enough time, or should I extend the trip?”
She’s still blinking at me like she doesn’t understand the words coming out of my mouth.
“I think that’s enough time. I can start ordering stuff tonight. But Xander, are you telling me that you’ve already decided that she’s the endgame for you? It’s been, what, less than a few weeks?”
“I’m telling you that the thought of being without her makes me want to tear the world apart. I don’t need five years with her to know that she’s amazing. I’m also not in a rush to do anything but spend time with her, learn more about her, and get her naked as often as possible.”
“Why must you torture me so?”
“Because it’s fun.” I smirk. “So yeah, she’s mine. And I want this to be her home as much as it’s mine.”
Ava nods and follows my gaze to Ivy. “I like her a lot. I’m happy for you. I can make the studio work. It’ll be great.”
“Thanks. Just charge it all to my credit card.”
“Oh, I plan to. I’ll also schedule myself a massage on your credit card as payment.”
“How generous of me.”
“Right? Best brother ever.”
“Admit it, it was fun and you’re glad you stayed.”
Ivy helps me close the accordion doors. It’s dark outside now, and all the family has gone, but it was a good day.
“I like your family,” she says. “They’re a good bunch. And now, I’m so freaking tired. Who knew that hosting a party is so exhausting?”
“Have you never done this before?”
Ivy scoffs. “No. Of course not. I mean, I worked in a busy bar, and I guess that feels about the same. And I’d definitely do it again.”
“Good.” I corner her against the countertop in the kitchen, brace my hands on either side of her hips, and lean in to brush my nose up the side of her neck. “It was torture, you know.”
“What was?” Her hands drift up and down my sides, under my shirt, making my cock twitch.
“Being so close to you all day and not able to do this.”
I nibble on the corner of her lips, and then she opens for me, and I frame her face, kissing the hell out of her. She makes those little noises that set me on fucking fire, and I boost her onto the counter and keep kissing her.
Her hands go right for my fly, and I grin against her lips.
“Are you saying that you missed me today too?”