Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“I had you on a hell of a pedestal,” I admitted. “I should’ve seen it earlier.”
“That I’m a selfish bastard?” he asked, quirking his mouth.
“Something like that.”
“I can’t go back and change things, baby girl,” he said quietly. “But I’d sure like the chance to prove I’m a changed man now.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” I said. Augie snorted, stirring in Gus’s arms. We both watched as little hand stretched open, then relaxed again as he drifted back to sleep.
“I understand,” Gus said. “I know it won’t happen overnight. But sooner or later—if you give me a chance—it’ll happen. You’ll see that I’ve changed.”
“Did you have anything else you wanted to talk about?” I said, suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m sure you have things to do. Wouldn’t want to keep you.”
“I have a present for you,” he said, nodding toward a large manila envelope sitting on the desk. “You and the babies. Go ahead and open it. Eli already knows about it.”
“Nice of you guys to wait for me…”
“I needed to run it by him,” Gus explained. “Make sure he understood.”
I shot him a look, then picked up the envelope. A sheaf of papers slid out, and I skimmed the one on top. Letterhead from a lawyer’s office. Was I reading it wrong? Because it looked like…
“It’s the house,” Gus said. “I’m giving it to you.”
I blinked. “You’re giving me and Eli the house?”
“No,” he said. “I’m giving you the house. I’m hoping you and Eli will decide to live there, but that’s your decision to make. Not mine.”
“Why?” I asked, stunned. “This isn’t about money, Gus. You can’t buy me off with a house. I can’t accept this.”
“Don’t accept it for yourself. Accept it for your babies. You can sell it someday, maybe pay for their college.”
“I have absolutely no clue what to say,” I admitted. “This feels wrong. Weird. What the fuck, Gus?”
“I want you to have it because I made a promise to your mother,” he said. “When she left me.”
“What was that?”
“That if she let me stay in your life, I’d never hurt you. And then I broke that promise. Like you said, actions speak louder than words. I can’t give her the security or peace of mind that I took from her all those years ago. But I can give it to you, and her grandchildren. This is my apology.”
My eyes watered, and I blinked furiously, trying not to cry. “Fuck you, Gus. I can’t believe I’m falling for your shit again.”
“So you’ll take the house?”
I reached for a tissue from the box on the desk, blotting my eyes carefully, then nodded.
“I’ll take it. But I’m still pissed at you for a lot of reasons. Including fucking up my makeup when I finally look decent for the first time in months.”
A slow smile spread across his face, and Gus looked ten years younger. “Thank you, baby.”
“Don’t read too much into it,” I snapped. “I’m not asking you to walk me down the aisle.”
“I know.”
The door opened.
“All good in here?” Eli asked, pitching his voice low as he stepped inside. “Lynette fell asleep.”
“Not yet,” I replied. “But it will be. Kids will have to share a bedroom, though. Sooner or later, we’ll have to tell them we did the same thing. Could get weird.”
“Shit,” said Gus. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“It’ll be fine,” Eli told me. “We’ll just need to make sure they’re both scared of snakes. Mutually assured destruction.”
“Is that how it works?” I asked.
“It’s always worked for us,” he replied. “Hey, Gus?”
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you take Augie for a little walk so I can have some alone time—well, partial alone time—with his mama.”
“Too soon,” I told him. “I’m still pissed at you for setting up an ambush.”
Eli gave me a look. “Seriously?”
I decided to let him off the hook. “No, I’m not pissed at you. But I’m not ready to let him take Augie for walks around the bar yet, either.”
“That’s good with me,” Gus said, clearing his throat. “Because I think this kid needs to be changed. That’s a little outside my area of expertise.”
“I got it,” Eli said.
“I can do it,” I told him. “You watched him all afternoon.”
“Yeah, but he might spray you and ruin your makeup. That’ll put you in a bad mood, which could fuck up my plan to get laid tonight.”
“So you think you’re getting laid tonight?” I asked, catching a strand of my hair, then twisting it around my finger.
“Pretty sure of it,” Eli said.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I have something you want.”
“I’m still in the room,” Gus said. “Just in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Shut up, Gus,” I said, watching as Eli carefully set Lynette down in her little bassinet. He walked over to the battered old file cabinet that’d been in the office for years, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a brown paper bag. It looked old, and I could see dust in the creases.