Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I realized I’d been checking him out, looking down his body, when I lifted my head and met his gaze. His grin was wicked and heated his eyes.
“Knock it off,” I warned him.
“I feel the same,” he said with a sigh, kissing over my jaw. “Maybe there won’t be enough chairs and you can sit in my lap.”
I cleared my throat. “First, don’t tease, and second, if you need to tell your father that all I am is your work partner, I understand. It’s brand-new with us, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or—”
“I appreciate that,” he said fast, like he was glad that was settled, hitting the button on his smart key to lock the car before starting up the sidewalk.
When he tipped his head but didn’t reach for me, I felt cold all of a sudden. It was stupid to regret my words—offering was the right thing to do; he needed to see his father without any other pressure—and yet, I felt untethered.
The clothes that were not mine weren’t helping. His shirt, his pants, his underwear for heaven’s sake, his socks, and shoes. I was covered in the man and yet unclaimed.
At the gate, I was going to tell him to go on in, I’d follow in a moment, but so many people called out greetings to him, and I didn’t want to bolt and look weak, or worse, make him come after me. I was his partner, after all. I needed to always have his back.
He held the gate open for me, and when I went through, he was there, beside me, and his hand was in a familiar spot, the small of my back. I realized that was normal for us. He’d always guided me places, steered me, touched me constantly. I had to wonder if he knew.
I took the stairs quickly, and since I was in front, when I reached the screen door, I opened it and held it for him. Normally, he was a stickler about doors. He liked being the one to usher everyone through, including me. Mostly me.
“Thank you, sir.”
It was nothing, but still, I felt flushed with just that much of his attention. I was thrilled that there were people there to greet us, two of his uncles clasping his hand and pulling him in close for that familiar clench before it was my turn. One after another, around the room he went, talking to more of his cousins, everyone smiling at me, the older men taking my hand as well, the younger ones greeting me with a hug. We’d spent so many Sunday dinners together already, as well as Easter. If Lang showed up, I was in tow. I’d told him many times that it was fine, I could stay home, but always, he was insistent that I should be at his side.
Now, he made sure I was following him, and when I got caught up, talking to his cousin Derrick, whom I’d always liked—he worked for ATF, so we had a lot to talk about—Lang took hold of my bicep and tugged gently.
“I’ll be back,” I promised Derrick and got a smile in return.
“I told you he’s weird,” Lang said under his breath, leading me farther into the house.
“He’s really nice. We played darts downstairs two Sundays ago, don’t you remember?”
“Why would I not remember that?” he asked curtly.
I would have said something, asked what irked him, but he was about to see his father, whom he hadn’t seen since he was eight and Talia five, so I let it go.
“Finally,” I heard Talia gasp, and then she was there, arms around my neck.
“Where’s Mom? Is she cowering in the bathroom?” Lang asked, teasing her. “Distraught downstairs in the basement?”
As we’d suspected, there was no emergency, as his mother was in no need of emotional rescue. But that didn’t mean Talia wasn’t. From the look on her face, I could tell something was very wrong.
“What happened?” I asked, my happiness at seeing her instantly replaced with dread because evidently, she felt like she was drowning in whatever was going on and needed to grab hold of me and hang on for dear life.
“His daughter, my half sister. I just met her,” she whispered into my shoulder. “She’s not even a whole year younger than me. That means her mother and Mom were pregnant at practically the same time.”
I had no idea what to say.
“You knew he cheated,” Lang reminded her. “This is not news.”
“No, it’s not.”
“You knew he had a daughter when he left. Mom told us.”
She pursed her lips.
He took a breath. “But knowing it is one thing though, and meeting your half sister is another, right?”
“Yes.” She struggled to get the word out.
I hugged her tight, and then the three of us retreated to a quiet corner in the living room, overlooking the backyard. Everyone else congregated in the front room, talking loudly, watching TV, but it was evident we needed to talk about this uninterrupted. Lang put his arms around both of us and kissed her cheek.