Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 105089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Roger gave her a skeptical look.
“That’s what I thought. We can totally do this!” She climbed onto the skateboard, kneeling on it. Then she put her hands down on the floor. She moved the skateboard back and forth a few times to build up momentum.
And then she started pushing herself toward the pins with a whoop!
This was it! She was flying! She was totally the ball!
Oh, pumpernickel! Those pins were coming up awfully quickly.
“Roger!” she yelled. “Protect yourself!” She curled over Roger right as they hit the pins.
It was more of a smash than she’d been expecting and she flew off the skateboard, landing on the floor.
Pins went flying. One hit a side table, which in turn caused the vase on it to wobble precariously.
Oh shit. She watched it with dawning horror. She could barely catch her breath and her whole body ached. There was no way she was going to make it in time to grab it.
Fuck! Who knew how much that ugly thing cost?
Probably a fucking fortune.
Dumbass.
Thankfully, two hands caught it before it could smash onto the floor. Cat let out a sigh of relief.
A smile broke out on her face when she saw who had caught it. “Papi! You’re here!”
Now, if only she could get off the floor, she’d give him a hug. Although, after spotting the thunderous look on his face . . . she might be better to run than hug.
“Pequeña . . . you . . . I . . . what the fuck are you doing?” Alejandro moved over to her, looking like he couldn’t decide whether to shake her or spank her.
“Looks like she was playing a game of ten-pin bowling,” an amused voice said. She glanced up into the smiling face of The Scot, one of Alejandro’s personal bodyguards. Cairn was standing behind him. Was he smiling too?
“With her as the ball?” Alejandro snapped.
“Here, give that to me, Boss,” The Scot said before plucking the vase out of Alejandro’s hands.
As soon as his hands were free, Alejandro kneeled beside her. He ran his hands over her, checking her for injuries.
“Yep! Human ten-pin bowling. It’s all the rage.” She grinned up at him.
Alejandro made a strange growling noise. Hmm, he was going a bit purple.
“Hi, Scot, Cairn,” she said cheerfully. “How’s it hanging?”
“Hanging better for me than for you, I’d say, Little Queen. That looked like fun. You should probably get rid of the expensive decorative shit before you play bowling ball next time, though.”
“There is not going to be a next time,” Alejandro grumbled. “Where are you hurt? Cairn, call Aaron and have him come out here.”
“What? No! I’m not hurt,” she complained, trying to push his hands away from her. “I don’t need Aaron.” His bedside manner sucked. Well, it was more that he was too scared of Alejandro to talk to her.
“I’m just a bit winded.” She tried to sit up, but Alejandro just glared at her. Then he picked her up in his arms and stood.
“Whoa, you been doing some squats at the gym?” she asked. “That was impressive.”
“You barely weigh a thing. You need to eat more.” His face was still furious as he walked toward the stairs.
“Don’t worry, we’ll clean this mess up,” The Scot called out.
“Thanks,” she said, waving a hand. “Just put it all in the storage room except for my skateboard. I’m going to want that.”
“Scot,” Alejandro called out as he reached the stairs that led up to the second level.
“Yeah?”
“Get rid of all of it.”
She gasped dramatically. “Papi! Do you know how much that cost?”
“I don’t care. It’s all going.”
“But I really like that skateboard. Can I just keep—”
“No!”
“But it’s such a waste to get rid of it. Look! I have a helmet on. Safety first.”
“If you were putting your safety first, then you wouldn’t have been on a damn skateboard in the first place,” he told her in a low voice as they entered her playroom.
She’d chosen one of the bedrooms a while ago to be her playroom, then she’d decorated it. A raised platform with three steps leading up to it was built around a large mattress. Normally, she didn’t like to rest in big beds, but this one was covered in all sorts of cushions and soft blankets.
The color scheme was different shades of deep blue and cream. There was a cream-colored desk and plenty of storage along one wall. An oversized egg chair hung from the ceiling in the other corner. The middle of the room was her play area. She’d bought a big blue and white polka dot rug.
Alejandro paused and looked around. “You haven’t been playing in here, Pequeña mocosa?”
She shrugged. “I tried, but it didn’t feel right to be in here without you, Papi.”
“My poor girl. Did you miss your Papi?”
“You abandoned me, Papi! Left me here to rot, banished to the ends of the earth.”