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)
Someone clears their throat and we all look over at our server, who looks sheepish. “Just checking in. Drinks?”
“Another martini, please,” Dex says.
“I’ll take another glass of wine,” Mara says.
“I’m good,” Harry says.
“Me too.”
We all return our attention to the trivia host.
“How many faces does a dodecahedron have?” he asks.
“Hmm. Dec means ten, right?” Harry says.
Harry is already writing. “It’s twelve. It has a Greek root—it’s a 3D shape with twelve pentagonal faces.”
“Okay, but how often do you get to use the word pentagonal?” Mara says with a grin.
She’s on cloud nine after having drinks with Professor Lumberjack. It went well—very well. I’m happy for her. She hasn’t been excited about a man in a long time, and she’s never had a relationship that lasted longer than a month. Maybe her time has come.
“I just don’t want to get burned again,” I say, returning to our conversation.
Dex puts his hand over mine and squeezes it. “I know. But real love is hot, babe. If it doesn’t have the potential to burn you, it’s not it.”
I nod, thinking about what he said. It hits a nerve. Are my feelings for Carter terrifying because of how high the stakes are?
I’ve never lived with a man before him. Never had a man buy me a diamond. Hell, not even a cubic zirconia. I’ve never loved children or known how it feels to hurt when they hurt. No one’s even done anything like the Nutter Butters for me other than my friends and family.
It’s like I fell from a cliff when Tyler left, and then I swam to the shore and started climbing again. I climbed past that first cliff and kept going. And going. I climbed until I reached the highest point, and now I’m standing there.
If this relationship doesn’t work out, I’ll fall further. Harder. Even after a couple of months, Carter has set a much higher standard for men than I’ve ever known. He’s not afraid to say he loves me, even if I don’t say it back. He had a chance to let the girls’ father raise them, but instead, he fought to keep them.
He’s ten times the man Tyler was. And if he’s willing to be vulnerable, I have to be, too.
I take a deep breath, returning my attention to the trivia host.
“Okay, guys. Bonus question here. This one is worth three points if you get it right. Here we go...the planet Uranus was originally named what?”
After a pause, he repeats the question. I look at Mara, then Dex, then Harry. All of them look as stumped as I am.
“Anyone?” Dex asks.
Mara shrugs. “My anus? That’s all I’ve got.”
He grins and starts writing. “We’re going with it. My...anus.”
“You guys,” I say.
All three of them look at me.
“I know I’m a dumbass sometimes, but I’m a genius when it comes to picking friends. I love you so much.”
Harry puts an arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple. “We love you, too.”
Mara blows me a kiss.
Dex looks at me over the dark rim of his glasses. “I love you, Suki, which is why I’m telling you you’ll regret it forever if you don’t try with Carter. With your whole heart.”
“Even though my heart looks like one of those models of a smoker’s lungs they show kids to scare them? All dark and shriveled?”
He considers. “Maybe you’re right. If you end up an old spinster with nine cats, my nine cats will have someone to play with.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Send him a tit pic,” Mara says. “He won’t even remember he was mad at you.”
“Tit pics are your solution to every problem.”
She shrugs. “They’re not not a solution.”
“How many tit pics have you sent to Professor Lumberjack?” Dex asks her.
“None.”
“Oh.” Harry’s brows hit his hairline. “She really likes him.”
The trivia host comes around to collect our answer sheets, and I take my phone out to check it.
Olivia: I got an A on my speech! I’ll show you my teacher’s score sheet tomorrow.
I get a pang of missing her, even though I just saw her this afternoon.
Carter and the girls have become everything to me. I’ve only ever asked myself what it would be like if things with Carter didn’t work out. It’s time to consider what things would be like if they did.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Carter
Charlotte frowns at her plate and sets her fork down.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“What’s the problem? Eat your breakfast. We have to leave for school in ten minutes.”
Hallie carries her plate of French toast over to the trash can and dumps it.
“What are you doing? You just threw away your breakfast.”
“I don’t like it. I like it when Suki makes it.”
I press my lips together for a few seconds to avoid snapping. You would think kids wouldn’t be that picky about something as basic as French toast, but you’d be wrong.