Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“Look, Kyle brought a friend,” Miranda declares ahead of us as we enter. Nope, can’t do it… she’s Mrs. Harrington to me.
I see Janey and Cole first, their faces familiar. Janey smiles instantly, and though Cole is sitting right next to her on the couch, he scoots another inch closer like I’m some secret ninja-level threat to his wife or baby’s safety. “Dani!” Janey exclaims brightly, struggling to get up for a second before giving up. “Nice to see you again!”
Kyle comes to my side, taking my hand. “Everyone, this is Dani. Dani, this is…” He points to my far left to begin, gesturing around the room as he introduces me to each person. “Cameron, my oldest brother. His daughter, Grace, is around here somewhere.”
“Kitchen,” Cameron fills in helpfully, his blue eyes on Kyle more than me. Cameron looks like he probably studies the stock market for fun, given his Sunday attire of a full suit with a red power tie, but his gaze has an empty hollowness to it that makes my heart hurt even though I don’t know why.
“Carter and his wife, Luna.” Carter is another blonde, blue-eyed Adonis looking guy, and Luna is short, curvy, with hair that’s piled on her head in some sort of bandana magic, and big, round glasses that are sliding down her nose. To my relief, she’s wearing floral denim overalls that appear to be… yep, paint-splattered. Okay, feeling better about my jeans now. Especially when she smiles and waves.
“Chance and his wife, Samantha.” Chance is wearing slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie, making me wonder how much he works and what he does. Maybe sales like Xavier? Samantha has on a matching two-piece lounge set, but she’s also wearing several necklaces, pretty gold earrings, and coordinating sandals so it’s more of a ‘look’ than a ‘sit around and watch Netflix’ vibe. Her dark eyes are flicking from me to Kyle and back again with interest, and when I arch a brow, daring her to question my place here, her lips lift into a tiny smile of approval that makes me feel like I just passed at least one test.
“And you already met Cole and Janey, and Kayla,” Kyle wraps up.
“And got the full rundown on us, I’m sure,” Kayla offers, coming around to perch on the arm of the couch near Janey.
This is almost creepy. It’s an entire room of Ken dolls come to life. Every man is tall, leanly muscled, blond, and blue-eyed. With Kayla also looking a bit Barbie-esque with her bright blonde hair and blue eyes, I can see why Kyle feels like the odd man out and questions the genetics. He’s definitely built differently from his brothers, and his hair and eyes are slightly different, too.
I also note as he introduces everyone that his dad isn’t here.
“You’ve already met?” Miranda asks, looking from me to Kayla.
Kayla nods, her smile easy but her eyes dancing. “Yeah, we ran into each other at Costco yesterday, didn’t we?”
There’s a vague threat of ‘act right or I’ll mention your dramatics’, and I don’t do well with intimidation so I lay it all out there, unashamed but apologetic. “I’d like to apologize again for causing a scene. I saw Kyle touching your belly,” I tell Janey, “and assumed the worst. I’m sorry.”
“Can’t blame you for assuming the worst where he’s concerned,” Carter mumbles, giving Kyle a shit-eating grin like it’s just some brotherly teasing, but I’m about ready to throw hands on Kyle’s behalf.
“You were touching Janey?” Cole questions flatly, his eyes cold as he locks onto Kyle.
The brothers might be joking, but I instinctively move closer to Kyle, not for my own protection, but because I’m willing to protect him if need be. Even against his family. Especially against his family.
Janey swats Cole’s thigh, and his eyes fly to her like he thinks something’s wrong, like maybe her water broke or she’s having a contraction. But she’s misread my movement and thinks I’m put off by the brothers. “Hush, you’re gonna scare Dani off and I told you, I like her. Kyle was feeling the baby flip-flop around because I asked him if he wanted to.”
I hear that she likes me. Kyle focuses on something else she said.
“Yeah, so I reached right up in there and high-fived the lil guy,” Kyle jokes, demonstrating by pressing his thumb to his fingers and wiggling them like he’s sticking them up a vagina. “I’m totally gonna be his favorite uncle.”
Janey laughs. Cole doesn’t.
But I see what Kyle’s doing when he takes the attention off me and what could be an unflattering introduction by putting it squarely on himself as a bigger, louder, better target. It’s the same thing he did with me and the officer and with his guys and Kathy. Kyle takes it all on, protecting everyone he cares about by throwing himself in front of any incoming bullet. It’s how he shows he cares.