Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 53238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 266(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 266(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
“I already did. We’re going to pick it up. It’s going to be a long drive, though. Like an hour and a half.”
“That’s okay.” She gets her phone out of her tiny purse. “I have a playlist we can listen to.”
“That sounds great.”
Eighty-eight minutes and a shitload of Taylor Swift songs later, we pull into the driveway of a house in the country.
Olivia gives me a confused look. “We’re at someone’s house.”
“Yep.”
I put my Range Rover in park and text the man Leo sent contact information for.
“You’ll need your coat. We’re meeting him in a building out back.”
When I see a guy in a heavy flannel and a baseball hat walking toward us, I get out of the car. Olivia follows, coming around to stand next to me.
“Carter?” the man asks me.
“That’s me.” I shake his hand.
“I’m John. You guys ready to pick out a pig?”
Olivia is still confused, but when we walk into an outbuilding and she sees around a half dozen tiny pink pigs curled up around each other in the hay, her jaw drops.
“A pet pig? Uncle Carter! Really?”
I nod. “Pick one out.”
Her expression is so thrilled that I grab my phone and take a picture of it. When she sits down in the hay on the ground of the pen, two of the pigs go right to her, snuffing and snorting.
She laughs and picks one up, cradling it. It squeals like she’s stabbing it.
“They’re dramatic,” John says. “She’s fine.”
It doesn’t take Olivia long to choose one. It’s a pink male with no spots, and I swear he looks like he’s smiling at her.
I owe Leo for this. At practice this morning, I asked him to find me a tiny pet piglet as quickly as possible. He came through.
I send John his payment over Venmo and he sends us with some hay and pellet food to get us started. Olivia’s happiness on the ride home makes me feel, for the first time since Rachel died, like we’re going to do more than just survive.
If we can stay together, that is. Suki will have a lot to do with that. All I can do now is hope she makes the right choice.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Suki
“Okay, first pro--he has a big dick.”
I gape at Dex, who is sitting in between Mara and Harry on my couch, writing on a legal pad. “What? How do you know that?”
“Oh, honey. It took less than half an hour of YouTube videos to find an interview of him in a locker room with a visible dick outline.”
Mara bites her lip. “Was he still sweaty? I have a thing for sweaty dicks.”
Dex and Harry both cringe dramatically.
“First of all.” Dex puts up a hand. “By the time the dick itself is sweaty, there is an entire ecosystem growing in a man’s crotch region.”
Mara rolls her eyes. “You guys are prudes. I love a big, strong, sweaty man.”
“Guys.” Standing on the other side of the couch, I glare at them. “Can we stay on topic here? This is a life-changing decision for me. And it has nothing to do with Carter’s dick size because it would be a marriage on paper only.”
“Okay, sorry.” Dex, an attorney, always helps me make pro/con lists when I’m feeling indecisive. He’s Rory Gilmore in the form of an attractive gay man. “I crossed off big dick, though as your attorney, I feel you should consider it.”
“Do I need an attorney for this?”
He considers. “If you decide to do it, yes. But I’ve got you. I’ll need to review the contract terms before you sign anything. And I mean anything, Suki.”
I sigh heavily, walking over to the coffee table to pick up one of the bacon-wrapped dates Harry included on the big tray of appetizers he brought over for our pro/con session. Even though he’s a chef who cooks a solid fifty hours a week at his restaurant, Harry never misses a chance to cook for us.
“This is crazy though, right?” I ask as I chew. “I mean...I can’t marry someone I hardly even know just for money.”
“It’s a lot of money, though,” Mara reminds me.
My shoulders sink with defeat. For them to fully understand this decision, I have to confess my shameful secret to Dex and Harry.
“Okay, it’s listen and don’t judge time. I cosigned all of Tyler’s loans for his business. So now that he’s gone, I’m...a hundred and eighty-three thousand four hundred and eighty-six dollars in debt.” I furrow my brow. “Ish. I don’t know if my last payment has cleared.”
Harry clamps a hand over his mouth. “Holy shit, Suki.”
“Un. Fucking. Real.” Dex gives me a stunned look. “Why the hell--”
“I did it, okay?” I keep my voice brisk and to the point. “I don’t want to hear about how dumb it was. I obviously already know.”
I can tell it takes considerable effort for him to press his lips together and stay quiet.