Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Hadley remained silent on the way here and though it was a short trip, he sensed she had a lot on her mind.
“Did you nap?” he asked. She’d gone upstairs while he secured Hadley and Dani’s new electronics.
She shook her head. “There’s just so much going on, my mind is spinning. Oh, wow!” she exclaimed.
“What is it?” he asked, as he parked the car behind other vehicles that told him some of his siblings were here. He shut the engine off, then turned towards her.
“This house. It’s gorgeous!”
He glanced at the structure in front of him, seeing it through her eyes. An ocean-front estate, it was a traditional style home with gray shingles and a long white porch. There were blue and white cushions on floating benches attached to the house that he knew his parents loved.
“It is. But it also must be overwhelming for you.”
Even back in high school, she’d tiptoe around, intimidated by the size of the house, the fact that there were so many bedrooms, the large pool in the backyard, and the playroom with a pool table and screening room in the basement.
She swallowed hard as she looked at him. “You remember my… insecurities back then?”
He tapped her nose, surprising himself with the easy gesture. “I remember everything about you.”
Her eyes glazed with emotion.
He wasn’t sure where either his comment or reaction had come from but he liked the intimacy between them.
“You’re right though. All this?” She gestured around her. “You can’t imagine the tiny house we live in back home.”
He tipped his head to the side, studying her. “We?”
She nodded. “I live with my dad and Dani.” She drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “You already know Patrice was a shitty person and mom, even after she had Dani. When we moved to Illinois, it only got worse. She hated being uprooted and she didn’t take care of Dani or the house, so I stepped in and took over.”
“Jesus, you were only sixteen.” He couldn’t imagine the burden put on her young shoulders.
“The early days weren’t as bad. Once Dani went to kindergarten, which thankfully was a full day, Patrice had too much time on her hands and she used that time to get high.” She shook her head, her disgust obvious.
He stretched his arm out over her seat. “So not exactly mother material.”
“No. And things only got worse. Time passed, some nights she didn’t come home… the one good thing my father did was ensure she lost custody. Now she only sees Dani when one of us is there to supervise. I pretty much raised my sister. There was no way I could move out and leave her to my father’s parenting. He might have been around, and he didn’t do drugs but Dani needed me.”
“You devoted your life to her.” She nodded and his admiration for her only grew.
He had the sudden need to be closer and leaned in. His head told him to be careful getting nearer to her but he was following his instincts. Her gaze on his, she met him halfway until their lips were millimeters apart, the attraction and spark between them still hotter than ever.
“Hey! Are you going to sit in the car all night? I’m starving!” Dani’s voice had them both jumping back in their respective seats.
Cockblocker, he thought, amused by the teen and also grateful she’d stopped him from acting too quickly. He glanced at Hadley, whose cheeks had turned red. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
He climbed out of the car, walked around to her side and opened the door. Extending a hand, he helped her out, her long skirt swaying around her legs. The fabric was made of a crinkly material that made it too casual in her eyes, or so she’d told him when he whistled as she’d joined him after her rest upstairs.
Her long, tanned legs looked phenomenal in that skirt and the second he saw her, dirty thoughts of lifting the flimsy material, backing her against the wall and finally, finally, driving into her wet heat consumed him. When his cock responded to the vision, he silently counted to ten, knowing he couldn’t walk into his parents’ house with a hard-on.
Once he’d calmed, he reached into the area behind his seat and pulled out the shopping bag with the goodies he’d brought for Dani. Then he followed Hadley up the walk towards her sister, who waited with Layla. It came as no shock that his sister now had a light blue streak in her hair on the same front piece as Dani’s. Knowing Serenity, Zach was sure Layla’s was washable.
“Looks like they’re bonding,” Hadley said, and he heard the relief in her voice.
He grasped her hand and squeezed. “Told you she’d be fine.”
“Hads!” Dani called, starting towards her sister.
Hadley rushed forward but instead of Dani greeting her, she ran to Zach. “You brought my phone and laptop!” she squealed.