Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
So, that had been his clever angle, to distract her with a kiss. “Yes, but now I’m hyperaware of you.”
He smirked a bit arrogantly. “As you should be.”
An unexpected smacking sound on the passenger side window startled Georgia, making her jump in her seat.
“Uncle Dew!” a little girl’s voice said on the other side, clearly unable to pronounce the “r” in Drew’s name. “Open up!”
Drew chuckled and moved back to his side of the car. “That would be my sassy, demanding, adorable niece, Whitney.”
They both got out of the vehicle, with Whitney jumping up and down in excitement and her big, wide eyes glued to Drew as he rounded the back of the car. Behind the toddler, Beck and Chloe crossed the lawn to join them, and as soon as Drew reached the sidewalk, he scooped up the little girl and tossed her into the air. Whitney let out a high pitch squeal, and when he caught her again, Whitney smacked a noisy kiss on his cheek.
Clearly, the little girl idolized her uncle, and judging by the smile on Drew’s face, he was equally smitten with his niece.
After Georgia greeted the couple, and they did the same, Drew glanced at Beck, then Chloe. “I wasn’t expecting such a boisterous welcome out here on the front lawn, instead of inside the house,” he said pointedly.
“That’s your own fault,” his sister-in-law said with a cheeky grin. “Whitney saw you drive up and was getting impatient waiting for you to get out of your car and decided to come and get you.”
“I sure am glad your windows are tinted,” Beck chimed in with a fabricated scowl. “Wouldn’t want to have to explain to my impressionable daughter what you were doing just now.”
Drew shrugged and bounced Whitney in the crook of his arm, eliciting a joyful giggle from her. “Georgia and I were just talking.”
“Yeah, okay,” Beck drawled, his tone now amused. “In that case, you might want to wipe off that bit of pale pink sparkle on your lips.”
Georgia’s face warmed. She hadn’t worn a heavy lipstick today, just a balm with a faint hint of color that had rubbed off on Drew during their kiss.
“Ahh, shit,” Drew said, and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
“Bad word, Uncle Dew!” Whitney said, poking him in the chest with her little finger.
Drew winced at the cute reprimand. “You’re right, Whit. I’m sorry.”
Whitney’s grin was filled with delight. “Give Mommy a dollar for the swear jar.”
He set his niece back on her feet, then dutifully pulled out his wallet. “Why does she sound way too gleeful about that?”
“Because she’s saving up for a pony,” Beck told him with an eye roll that only the adults could see. “And trust me when I say I’ve more than contributed my fair share to the swear jar.”
Drew opened his wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and handed over the payment to Chloe. “I don’t have any ones, so this should cover me for nineteen more swear words,” he said wryly.
Once the money exchange was made, Georgia gently touched Drew’s arm to get his attention. “We need to get a few things out of the trunk before we head inside,” she reminded him.
He nodded, and she followed him to the back of the car, where she retrieved a cake carrier with the dessert she’d made, along with a gift bag printed with pastel flowers and butterflies, and pink tissue paper inside. They headed into the house, where Georgia met Drew’s mother, Audrey, and his father, Kurt, both who immediately made her feel welcome. Kurt, now a cancer survivor she’d learned from Drew, looked incredibly fit and healthy.
In the kitchen, Georgia set the cake carrier on the counter but held on to the gift bag. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to bring something, so I made a dessert. It’s a salted caramel chocolate cake.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all,” Kurt said, and everyone laughed and agreed that there was no such thing as too many desserts.
Whitney tugged on Georgia’s dress, and when she glanced down at the little girl, she was eyeing the gift bag curiously.
“What’s that?” Whitney asked, pointing to the bag.
Georgia smiled and handed her the gift she’d purchased as a way to break the ice between herself and the young girl. “Well, this is something for you.”
“For me?” A cute little frown furrowed between Whitney’s brows. “But it’s not my birfday,” she said, struggling to say the last word correctly.
Unable to resist, Georgia gently smoothed her hand over Whitney’s soft head of curls. “I know, but I saw this at the store and thought that if I was a little girl, I would love to have this to play with.”
Georgia caught Drew’s warm gaze and his appreciative smile as Whitney settled on her knees on the kitchen floor and eagerly tore into the gift while everyone watched. When she saw what was inside, she gasped dramatically.