Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“That’s romantic.” Magnus smiled, exactly like someone who’d never met Montgomery. My late husband had been refined. Elegant at times and practical at others, always deeply reliant on logic and reason. I wouldn’t call either of us romantic, but Magnus’s characterization warmed my chest, like perhaps I’d missed some key detail over the years of sharing the story.
“Maybe.” I gave a lopsided shrug. “Two sibling group adoptions and a dozen years or so later, and here we are.”
“And my point stands. You hoped you were ready, and yes, you planned more than some of us, myself included, but none of us know.”
“Gah.” I made a frustrated noise. Why did Magnus, of all people, have to be so damn wise? “I’ve got to go back in there and tell them I’ll be there, don’t I?”
“It might be helpful, yes.” Magnus stretched, his expression indifferent until a mischievous grin swept across his rugged feature. “I mean, unless you want me to run away with Grandpa of the Year.”
“Thanks.” I might have given a friend a friendly shove or light tap, but Magnus wasn’t my friend, and touching him was all kinds of risky that had nothing to do with his bad joke. Instead, I sobered, practicing saying what I needed to even when my throat wanted to scream instead. “Seriously. Thank you. I keep giving you reasons to be less than nice to me, yet you never are.”
“Perhaps you’ll have to accept that I like you, Eric.” Magnus held my gaze. And held it. His hazel eyes were almost gold under the porch light. As if pulled by a magnet, I stepped closer. He held out a hand.
“Uh.” I gulped, suddenly willing to follow this man anywhere.
“Now, let’s go relieve the kids from spying on us through the shades.”
Oh. Right. Back inside. Hell. I’d been moments from…something.
“They were watching?” I glanced over Magnus’s shoulder at the front room. Yep. The blinds gave a wiggle too deliberate to be accidental. “Yeah, best get my serving of crow over with.”
“I’ll bring you some flan next time to wash it down.” Magnus winked at me, making heat lick at the base of my spine. I wanted. Lord, how I wanted. And now, we were about to be in-laws, and one simply could not go around wanting their fellow grandfather-to-be like this.
Chapter Seven
Magnus
“Any last words of advice?” Diesel wandered into the kitchen where I was currently ironing our dress shirts on the pull-down ironing board original to the 1930s cottage. All the built-ins were a big reason why I’d bought this place. Well, that, and it had been cheap, allowing me to sink most of my savings into The Heist.
“How about do your best?” I was still trying to wrap my head around this midweek courthouse wedding. Midweek because Diesel had Wednesday and Thursday off but not the weekend. Mid-morning because that was the slot the judge had open. Practical. I was much more of a realist than a romantic, but I hoped the actual wedding next year brought a less businesslike vibe.
“That’s it?” Scoffing, Diesel stretched, tattoos rippling and freshly touched-up blue hair gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the dining room windows. Ben and Jerry had been snoozing on their double-sized dog bed under the windows but roused themselves long enough to investigate whether Diesel had treats. “Your words of wisdom are to try hard. Weak, old man, weak.”
“Try hard is good advice.” We had long had the sort of relationship where we could tease each other and give each other crap, so I kept my voice light. Hanging up his shirt to cool, I moved onto my dress shirt. “As is, listen to Maren. I’m not sure you need more advice than that. You’ve already highlighted the crap out of that pregnancy week-by-week guide.”
I pointed at the book he’d left on the dining room table. A pen, highlighter, and stack of sticky notes sat nearby.
“Yeah, but they don’t make a what-to-expect guide for marriage.” Diesel sounded genuinely dismayed about this, which was funny, considering it had been a challenge to get him to crack enough textbooks to pass high school.
“Sadly true.” I wouldn’t mind a what-to-expect from your mid-forties guide either. “And that’s true for most of adult life.” Letting out a huff, I put some muscle into working out a particularly stubborn wrinkle near the shirt collar. “For what it’s worth, I believe in you and Maren. Try hard, and I think you may surprise all of us.”
“All of us? Is that including Eric?” Diesel looked up from petting the dogs. Ben’s ever-present tongue lolled out, and Jerry rolled over to show his ample belly. I’d adopted the dogs while Diesel had been in Europe, but they weren’t picky about who they accepted pets and treats from. Luckily, Diesel’s lone pair of dress pants were black because he sure wasn’t taking care to avoid dog hair. “It’s a good thing I don’t like coffee because I think Eric wants to poison mine.”