Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I groaned and put my face in my hands.
“Dad told me you bumped into him the other day and that you have to work together,” Topher continued.
I shot a glance at Ada, whose face with smeared with grape jelly.
“Hold on,” I muttered as I got to my feet and scooped Ada up in my arms. “You ready for a nap, baby?”
Ada stuck her tongue out at me. I took her into the bathroom and gently wiped her face clean, then took her into her room and set her down in bed with her bunny.
“Mommy and Pop-Pop and Uncle Toph are going to talk for a while,” I said, praying that Ada wouldn’t hear too much through my apartment’s admittedly-thin walls. “You lie with Bun-Bun and try to get some sleep, okay?”
Ada nodded and yawned. She was blinking sleepily at me as I tiptoed to the door of her room and pulled it partly closed behind me.
In the kitchen, Dad was doing the dishes and Topher was still sitting at the table.
“That bad, huh?” Topher joked.
I sighed. “I had to see him last night, in his stupid condo, for work,” I said.
“And?”
I looked down at my hands. “He ... well, he said he wanted to call me.”
“Wow, from a man that’s practically a marriage proposal,” Topher joked, and I shot him a dirty glance.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know,” I muttered. “It was all pretty confusing.”
Except, it wasn’t. There was nothing confusing about it. Nico wanted me and I wanted him – but there was no way I was willing to let him find out about Ada.
Topher and my dad exchanged a look that I didn’t like one bit.
“You haven’t told him yet, have you?” Topher asked.
“Of course I haven’t,” I said quickly. “Why on earth would I do that?”
My dad sighed. “Maybe you should talk to him, honey. Maybe that would give you some closure.”
“Yeah,” Topher chimed in. “He deserves to know about Ada, sis.”
I shook my head fiercely, even though deep down I knew my brother was right. Still, it felt like my family was ganging up on me, and I’d always expected them to be on my side ... even when I knew that I was in the wrong.
“His family is literally insane,” I said quietly. “You know why I quit – he wanted me to pretend to be his wife,” I added.
“Well, you were already doing one aspect of that,” Topher joked, and I had to resist the urge to punch him in the arm.
“Honey, just think about it – that’s all I’m asking,” my rational father opined, and I sighed again.
Times like this made me wish that I had a best friend, someone who I could talk to and vent to and ask for advice. I’d been so busy with Ada and work and trying to get my life together that I’d really neglected my friendships, and I felt like a terrible person. Sometimes, being a single mom was so lonely that I felt like crying. But it was totally my problem: I should have been reaching out and going to mommy-and-me groups with Ada, trying to find us both friends.
Once everything calms down at work, that’s what I’ll do, I told myself.
I just have to finish dealing with Nico first.
“I will,” I said to my father, and he raised an eyebrow at me.
“Just promise me that you’ll give it a shot,” he said. “For me. And for Ada,” he added, cocking his head to the side.
I pressed my lips together and sighed. “Okay,” I grumbled. “I’ll think about it. But I’m not making any other promises.”
13
Nico -- Monday
I was just wrapping up a meeting with one of my new clients, a promising college kid who had a definite future in the NBA, when Portia stuck her head in my office.
“Mr. Ulrich? I have someone from HAUTESCENE for you,” she said timidly.
I got to my feet. “Eric, it was a pleasure to meet you,” I said to my client. “Thanks so much for coming in. Talk to my girl on the way out – we have tickets to see The Lion King on Broadway for you and your girlfriend, plus a voucher for Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.”
Eric’s eyes widened. “Holy shit,” he said. “Thanks, man. That’s awesome.”
I grinned. Eric was a good kid but a real hayseed – he’d told me that flying to New York to meet me had been his first time on a plane – and I loved knowing that Ulrich Sports always went the extra mile when it came to making our clients happy.
“Spring for the second-most expensive wine on the list,” I advised him. “That should make your girlfriend really happy.”
Eric gave me another huge grin, then cockily walked out of my office. As soon as he had gone, I sat down at my desk and picked up the phone.