Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Then last year I found this building for sale, but it would be really tight. Especially since I had just bought my house, but I ran the numbers and figured it would be doable. It was a one-stop shop, we set up spa days—complete with hair and makeup—which was our biggest seller. Last month, I finally put in the café and it was a hit. People who would come and do their hair or nails could stop and get a bite to eat with a friend. It couldn’t have been going any better and I was so proud of myself.
I mean, no one else was proud of me, so I had no choice but to give myself a pat on the back. My mother was always in and out of my life. She, in her words, couldn’t be tied down. She had to see the world, spread her wings, which she did multiple times. I didn’t even know who my father was. I’m not sure my mother knew, but she pretended she did. He was so handsome, every single time she would pop in for a visit—which wasn’t frequent—she would tell me stories about him. In the beginning, I would sit and listen intently until I think I turned eight, and I learned early on not to believe anything she told me.
My grandmother is the one who raised me, and lucky for me. She lasted until I was eighteen years old and she knew I would be able to take care of myself. I believe that she finally let go and passed away in her sleep. Six months after my grandmother died, so did my mother.
I was literally all alone, and then one day I saw this advertisement online about tracing my ancestries. Why not, I thought, what is the worst that can happen? So as I was swabbing my inner cheek, I never expected the results. I matched with a family in Greece, that didn’t shock me since my mother mentioned meeting a man in Santorini with the bluest eyes, which is apparently where I got my blue eyes from.
It was the strangest thing to go from being all alone to then having over twelve connections of close family members, on the other side of the world. I wasn’t sure if I should reach out to them, but they reached out to me. They were both shocked and happy to find me. More shocked than anything for sure. Unfortunately for me, my father had passed on the year before from cancer. Right after I found that out, I got a phone call from Stefano, who was—of course—forced by his family to reach out to me. We were shocked to find we were in the same state, so we decided to meet up. All it took was one time and his father and mother came down to meet me. His father was my father’s nephew and he and his family have been very, very nice to me. They’ve included me all the time. It’s a little bit weird but I’ve attended a couple of functions, of course bringing Levi with me since he knew them also.
The phone ringing makes me come out of my daydream. I look at the Bluetooth and see it’s Levi calling.
“You’d better not be canceling on me.” I don’t even bother saying hello.
His laughter fills the car. “Would I do that?”
“Yes,” I immediately answer him. “You would and you have.”
“Never.” He gasps but doesn’t stop chuckling.
“There was that leggy brunette who you pegged as soon as we got into the restaurant the last time and you bailed after appetizers,” I remind him.
“She was in town for the night,” he snaps in his defense, “she was a nanny.”
I can’t help but laugh now. “She was not a nanny. She showed you a random picture. I asked her how old the kids were and she said, ‘Um, about three to four months old.’ The kid was walking.”
“She was confused.” He tries to plead her case, and I roll my eyes as I pull up next to his Mercedes. “English wasn’t her first language.”
“I’m about to be confused right now and bail on your ass,” I remark, looking at him. He turns his head, and his face fills with a smile. He disconnects and leans over to grab his suit jacket before getting out of his car. His cuffs are rolled up to his elbows. On his left hand is the silver Rolex with the black-braided bracelet I got him for Christmas last year, and he holds his jacket in his other hand. He walks around the back of my car and opens my door.
“And they say chivalry is dead.” I laugh as I lean over and grab my purse before shutting off the car. He holds out his hand for me to grab it, but I smack it away. “I don’t even know where that hand has been.”