Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 59671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“Can you imagine?”
“Maybe I could be her godfather.” He raises his eyebrow mischievously.
“Tristan would have a heart attack.”
“That’s the point of it.”
“You are so bad.” I giggle. “Behave.”
The way Gabriel purposely baits the Miles brothers is next level. If we hadn’t been such good friends before I met Tristan, I wouldn’t understand it. But Gabriel’s different, he isn’t who they see.
I know the real him.
Mind you, I don’t blame them at all for disliking him. Tristan and I have had the biggest fights in our relationship over my friendship with Gabe, but he’s staying in my life. It’s nonnegotiable, he was a dear, dear friend to me after Wade died and at a time when I felt totally alone, he always had my back.
As much as Tristan dislikes him, I know he respects him because of how he’s protected me in the past. Not that he’ll ever admit it.
He stands and takes my hand in his. “Congratulations, bella, you deserve to be happy.”
I smile up at him as I hold his hand in mine. “So do you.”
He exhales heavily. “Maybe one day.”
“You hate that you like Gracie that way, don’t you?”
“I hate meddling friends more.” He kisses my cheek. “Call me when you can have lunch.”
“Thank you for coming, it means a lot.”
He disappears out the door and I turn back to my full-time position of Summer staring.
Sigh…. She’s so perfect.
“Here we are. Home sweet home.” Tristan smiles as he pulls into the driveway.
The boys are all lined up on the veranda waiting with a bunch of flowers each, I giggle. “How long have they been waiting there?”
Tristan throws me a sexy wink and comes around and helps me out of the car, the boys come rushing out and clamber around us.
“Thank god you’re finally home,” Patrick moans. “It’s been so long.”
Tristan goes to the back seat and unlatches Summer’s little carrier; he carefully carries her inside to hushed excitement of the boys.
Fletcher opens the door and Tristan carefully walks into the house with Summer, he stumbles and trips on a football boot, he goes careering toward a wall and just stops himself in time.
“Shoes in the foyer,” he hisses through gritted teeth as he looks around to the boys.
“Sorry,” Patrick whispers, he picks up the boots and opens the door and hurls them out the front door.
“Quite sure they don’t go there either.” Tristan widens his eyes.
“I’ll get them later,” Patrick replies. “Can I hold her now?”
“Let’s show Summer her bedroom first.” I smile.
To the excited whispers of the boys, Tristan carries the carrier upstairs and down to her bedroom. “So help me god,” he whispers angrily. “I’m going to kill that fucking cat.”
“Don’t swear in front of her,” Patrick cries.
We’ve been drilling into the boys about using appropriate language in front of the baby.
“What are you talking about?” I look around the room and then I see it and burst out laughing.
Muff the cat is curled up asleep in Summer’s cot.
Tristan passes me the carrier. “Hold this, darling,” he says a little too sweetly.
“Don’t….”
He picks Muff up and pretends to whisper in her ear. “You are going to meet a grisly end, my friend. Mark my words.” He puts her outside the room and closes the door. “Where were we?” He looks around the room at the boys all gathered around Summer on the floor.
“I believe we were in heaven,” I say as I watch the four of them together.
He smiles and kisses me softly. “I know we are.”
I look at the empty cradle and roll my eyes. “Where is my baby?” Not in her cradle as usual, I walk downstairs to find Tristan lying on the couch with Summer bundled up and sleeping in his arms. He cannot leave her alone, he wants to hold her all the time. Between him and the boys she is never left alone for even a second.
They are obsessed.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Watching television, what does it look like?”
“Why is Summer not in her crib?”
“She was lonely.”
“She was asleep, Tristan. You don’t get lonely when you are asleep.”
“She’s so little, she hates being up there by herself. She said she likes to be down here with me.”
“She said that?” I look at him deadpan.
“Uh-huh.”
“She’s ten days old, she can’t speak.”
“Telepathically, Claire, telepathically.” He taps his temple and then looks down at his daughter. “You like sleeping on me, don’t you, baby? I’m the ultimate mattress.”
I smirk because they really are so cute together. “This is all great for when you are home, Tris, but you are creating a monster here. When you go back to work, I can’t sit still all day while she sleeps in my arms, I have a household to run. You are only making it harder for her.”
He looks up at me unimpressed.
“She needs to go back to her crib.”