Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“Yep.”
“You forget my wife was waddling before we knew she was pregnant. Where’s our room so I can put our things in there?”
“Oh I’ll show you. Let me help you while the ladies talk…shit.”
“Lennox knows me too well,” Jill says.
“How long have you known them?”
“I grew up next door to them since I was ten. I’ve always had a crush on Sawyer.”
“How could you tell them apart at the time?”
“Now, I can see the difference in them because they’re slightly different in height and build, but was it always like that?”
“No, but their eye color. Sawyer’s eyes are brown and Lennox’s are hazel. Sawyer has a little scar in his hairline from a fall he had while playing football outside his house.” I’m not jealous that she knows my future husband’s eye color so well or so I tell myself. It’s because she has to tell them apart.
“Did you ever like Lennox?”
“No. I did almost kiss him when I was eighteen.” I feel sick. “Oh, no. It’s not like that or anything. Lennox and I never liked each other. Never.” She goes on to explain and I laugh. Now I want to rub it in Sawyer’s face because he kept picking on Lennox over me, but he was so much worse when it came to Jill.
“Beautiful. How are you doing?”
“I’m wonderful.”
“I heard there’s a town dance coming up. Do you ladies want to go?”
“It’s really charming and very old-fashioned. Think classic dance hall holiday party,” I say.
“Oh it sounds like fun,” Jill says. “I made sure to pack a couple of dresses just in case.
“Yay. I can’t wait.”
The doorbell rings. “That’s the food,” Lennox says. He goes and gets the food order and then we all sit around my parents’ old sturdy dining room table.
Chapter Ten
Lennox
My brother and I are having a cup of coffee while working on reports in the dining room and discussing business while Celeste works in her office down the hall. The snow is falling heavily this morning and the Christmas eve party is tonight.
“So what are your plans, Nox? We have a major company to run and frankly sitting in a dining room isn’t going to cut it. It’s the holiday, so we have been able to pull it off but come the second week of January it will be business as usual.
“I know and I’ve considered my options. Celeste loves it here and so do I. Fuck, I don’t know what to do. She’s running her own company and I can’t make her stop and demand she follow my lead and give up her life to follow me.”
“But I will.”
“Celeste,” I gasp, turning around to see her come into the dining room with her laptop and a folder. She takes a seat between the two of us at the head of the table and opens up her computer. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. Besides, I believe you’re right about my company and the need for a team. As much as I want to maintain my independence, frankly, I can’t.”
“I’m proud of your success, but needing a team only means that you’re too successful. A one-man show can only go on so long as the company remains small and not as productive. I’ve added a special production line, forcing you to need employees.”
She cocks her brow up at me, pointing her finger at me. “So this is all your fault.”
I take her hand and bring it to my mouth and kiss it. “You can put it all on me, love,” he says with a proud smile. “I’ve never been happier about a plan well-executed.”
Her pretty eyes widened like saucers in surprise. “Wait, you planned on getting me pregnant that night?”
“Sweetheart, I fucked you twice without any protection. All I could think about was making sure you couldn’t get away without my baby in your belly. In fact, I wondered if we’d have twins like my brother and I.”
She bites her bottom lip and shakes her head. “And you’re just telling me now.”
I lift her up from that chair and drag her around to mine, sitting her on my lap. “For a smart woman, I thought you would have figured that one out.”
“I just thought you were caught up in the moment.”
“I said I was breeding you, baby because I fucking meant it. It wasn’t possessive dirty talk. I was marking my damn territory. Celeste, the moment I saw you, I wanted you and only you. Nothing was going to stop me and I wanted to grab the fucking nearest bottle and bust it over the bartender’s head that night. Hell, if I had any idea that you’d run out the door, I would have had it bolted shut, or some shit.”
“Yeah, he did mention something about wishing he’d bolted the door shut. So as for the business. Do you plan to move to Chicago or can you run the company from New York?”