Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“You’re welcome.”
He grinned at me as he stretched out on the couch and rested his head on my thigh. I began to stoke his damp hair, and he asked, “How was your week, mi amor? And how’s our little man?” The word “our” didn’t go unnoticed. I thought it was very sweet that he and Owen had developed such a strong bond over the past couple of months.
“He’s amazing. He’s currently obsessed with that children’s book of Cuban folk tales you gave him. He brings it to me at least ten times a day and insists that I read him his favorite story, The Bossy Rooster. I don’t even have to look at the pages now, I have the whole thing memorized.”
That made him smile. “That was my favorite too when I was little. I’ll take a turn reading it to him after dinner tonight.”
“He’d love that.” As I continued to stroke his hair, his eyelids started to get heavy, so I asked, “Do you want to move to the bed and take a nap, Lucky?”
He sat up and shook his head. “I slept on the plane, so I’m not tired. This is just exceptionally relaxing.”
When he held his arms out to me, I straddled his lap and kissed him. Then I rested my head on his shoulder and asked, “So, how was your week?”
He didn’t really like to talk about his job, which I understood. Coming here was a chance to leave it all behind for a couple of days. But he loved telling me funny stories about his dad, and he exclaimed, “He’s making us take up golfing! Have I mentioned I hate golf with a passion? The thing is, he does too, but he says that’s just what you do when you retire. Tell me, where’s the logic in that?”
I sat up and told him, “I’m going to need pictures of you in plaid pants and one of those silly golf caps with a pompom on top.” He still sent me daily texts, most of which were him complaining about being stuck at his desk. Since he was there a solid twelve to fourteen hours a day, no wonder he felt the need to vent.
He grinned at me and said, “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? He did drag me to the pro shop and coerced me into getting some ‘appropriate’ golf clothes, but I’m sorry to disappoint you—plaid pants and pompoms were avoided.”
“That is disappointing. Have you two actually golfed yet?”
“Yes, and it was a train wreck. Dad rearranged my schedule twice this past week, then took me golfing on a long dinner break. He bought us two sets of golf clubs, and then he got so frustrated that he ended up hurling one of the clubs into a pond.”
“Did he really?”
Lucky nodded. “He’s pretty hot-tempered and finds golf as annoying as I do, and yet he’s making me go again next week. He keeps saying it’ll grow on us.”
“Well, hey, at least you’re getting to spend some time outside and away from the office.”
“Your optimism is adorable, but it’s August, and I’m in Florida. It was about a hundred and fifty degrees, with three thousand percent humidity.”
“It’s nice that you’re not prone to exaggeration.”
He chuckled and said, “Okay, so I may be rounding up slightly.”
We spent the next couple of hours just enjoying each other’s company, before we finally decided it was time to get dressed and head to my house for dinner. It was our turn to cook, but instead of stopping for groceries, Lucky cheated and placed a huge order at his favorite Chinese restaurant. We picked it up on the way home, so both of us were juggling cardboard boxes full of takeout containers when we walked in the door.
I’d texted Lark with a heads-up about dinner, and he and Dylan met us in the foyer. Dylan took the box from Lucky and gave him a one-armed hug as he said, “Hey, man, good to see you! Lark decided to set the tables on the patio for dinner, since it’s cooler outside now than it is in here. Come on back.”
Since communal meals had become a weekly feature at the pink Victorian, Dylan had built a pair of picnic tables which we kept positioned end-to-end. Tonight, my brother had set them with colorful rainbow placemats, a mishmash of dishes, and a row of mason jars which held flowers from the garden. He’d completed the look with about fifty flameless candles—lord knew we had plenty from the wedding—and he’d also turned on all the twinkle lights in the yard, so the whole thing looked beautiful.
Owen was exploring the backyard dressed in a cute little shorts set and sandals, with JoJo keeping an eye on him. As soon as he saw us, he shrieked with delight and ran to Lucky, who scooped him up and exclaimed, “Hi there, buddy, I missed you! I swear you’re bigger than you were last week.”