Total pages in book: 191
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
He laughed as he tickled the little girl. “I was just about to call you back, honey. I was on the phone with my agent, and Bibi hadn’t come back, and I was worried somebody was tryin’ to steal her from me.”
Like someone would kidnap me.
Zac straightened, turned in my direction, and said, “One second, darlin’. Forgive my manners. I got one more very important person to say hi to, and then I’ll introduce you all.” He winked at me a second before he dropped down to a knee, still balancing both children in his arms and shoulders, and grinned at the other boy. “How you doin’, bud? You got a hug or a high five for me?”
The littlest boy, who had to be… I had no idea since he was so big he could have been three or fifteen, shrugged then held out his hand. Zac smacked it. Then he stood up and tilted his chin just a little higher to look at the man maybe an inch or two taller than him. They stared into each other’s eyes, and then Zac snickered and leaned in to pat him on the back. “How’s it goin’, Big Guy?”
The big guy indeed gave him a single hard smack to the spine that I was pretty sure would’ve broken my back.
Then, finally then, did my friend turn back. “Where was I now? Bianca, this is Vanny, and this is Aiden. And these little angels are Fiona, Grayson, and Sammy.” He bounced the girl. “My niece and nephews.”
The big man rolled his eyes again, but the pretty woman—Vanessa—grinned.
“They’re some of my best friends, even though they only come visit about once a year.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure you only come to visit once or twice a year too so….” The woman trailed off, inching her way toward the big guy, who took her into his side, reached over, and put his hand on the hip farthest away from him.
They were pretty cute together.
“I thought y’all weren’t gettin’ here ’til tomorrow?” Zac asked before whispering who knew what to the little girl.
Vanessa shrugged. “We were in Austin visiting Diana. My brother is here on business, so we came down to see him too. We were calling to see if you wanted to go eat with us, but you weren’t answering, so we decided to come over and make sure you were still alive.”
Aiden slid the woman—she had a huge colorful rock on her ring finger, so I had to bet she was his wife—a look. “And?”
She slid him a look back before sighing. “And I wanted to see Trevor’s house,” Vanessa admitted. “Part of me still can’t believe he doesn’t just have a coffin in a castle somewhere.”
Zac laughed, and so did the massive man, the sound of his kind of rusty, not likes Zac’s which was clear and happy and well used.
“I don’t go into his room, so you never know what he’s sleepin’ in in there.” Zac bumped my elbow with his free one, blue eyes catching mine. “You seen it?”
“No, not yet,” I said, not sure what to say.
Zac’s hand landed on the back of my neck, giving it a squeeze before it slid down and rubbed between my shoulder blades. “Come on in then. I’ll let you snoop around. Where y’all goin’ to eat?”
The woman rattled off a place that wasn’t a restaurant but more of a family-fun center with tokens and games that I’d taken Guillermo and Luisa to before about half an hour away.
Her answer also happened to be my cue to go do something. “Well, I have some things to do, but it was nice meeting—”
“Come with us,” Zac interrupted.
Had he missed the part where he’d been the one invited and not both of us? I tried to tell him with my eyeballs what I was thinking, but when his smile didn’t falter or do anything, I whispered, “Ehm, they came to see you.”
Zac didn’t whisper back. “Vanny, tell her she can come.”
“Of course you’re invited. I didn’t know you were the Peewee.”
She’d just thought I was BIANCA BLACKHAIRGYM HOU.
Zac winked, which didn’t help any either.
“Aiden’s treat,” he said.
The Aiden guy just stared at him, but Zac was oblivious.
“You comin’?” He busted out the big guns as he beamed that Zac smile at me. “Please?”
I wanted to tell him that I really should get to work, but… how could I say no to that ‘please’?
I was pretty sure he knew the answer to that was that I couldn’t say no to him and his pleases.
That was how, an hour later, after all three kids peed, I found myself realizing that I had to be the only person who didn’t know who the Aiden guy was. He had played in Dallas, like I’d wondered. And while I had no doubt he’d played some defensive position based on his size, he must have been really well loved and admired since Houston fans weren’t exactly Three Hundreds fans. Because the second we entered the family entertainment center—which I knew from memory had pizza, burgers, and chicken nuggets—it seemed like every eye turned toward the big man and the Disney prince quarterback who threw farts at me.