Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“I’m almost certain,” I stated. “This is what children do. But fear not. I will shoot them down with squirt guns and water balloons to protect your honor.”
He snickered and pressed a kiss to my neck. “My hero.”
That was the goal.
“For now, make yourself some tea and rest,” I murmured. “When Penelope leaves, I want to find you in our bed, buried under the covers, watching a movie. Or sleeping.”
“Yes, Master.”
I owed Macklin a big favor. When Penelope and I returned to the den, she told me I could relax. She wasn’t going to grill me too hard.
“I understand your speech comes from a place of love,” I said and sat down.
“And fear,” she replied. “Fear of not getting to experience you as a curmudgeon in your eighties.”
I chuckled softly and rubbed at my chest. Every now and then, I felt those annoying twinges that ramped up my worry. Reminding me that quitting my job was far from enough. It was going to be a long road to recovery. Plus, I had that inflammation or whatever the doctor had said. KC had looked up something called costochondritis.
We’d see what my doctor said tomorrow.
“Does it hurt?” Penelope’s green gaze flashed with concern.
“Not too much. Just enough to remind me and make me fret.” It was easier to play it off as a lighthearted situation, when it was anything but.
“Don’t lie to me, Lucian.”
“I’m not—” Fuck. I blew out a breath. “I’m not lying. I’m merely downplaying it a tad. Believe me, I’m brutally honest with KC and the boys.”
“Oh, so friends don’t get the brutal honesty.” She cocked a brow.
“Exactly.” I nodded.
She sighed heavily and pulled something from the front pocket of her hoodie. “Anyway. Here. Knowing you, you’re a day or two away from climbing the walls, so I thought I’d introduce you to a hobby.”
She tossed a flat pouch of some sort next to my coffee, and I furrowed my brow and picked it up. Tomatoes? Tomato seeds?
“Wasn’t this how the Godfather died, picking tomatoes?”
She smirked. “Something or the other. When he was old. Try to get there, will you? It pains me to say this, but you’re important to me.”
Aw, damn it all. If she was going to get sentimental, I couldn’t pretend to be dismissive about her worry—or her…gift. And hey, perhaps she was right. I would certainly need something to do around here when everyone else went off to work. Growing tomatoes—that could be my thing.
“Come here, please.” I patted the spot next to me. “I appreciate you, darling. And now it’s time for me to play big brother.”
“Oh, spare me.” She said it in a teasing tone but came over, nonetheless, and that meant something. She could protest all she wanted, but this was her coming out of hiding. I hadn’t been bullshitting about the cry for help. If she’d wanted to handle things on her own, she would’ve shown up in her skinny jeans, high heels, and red lipstick that completed the look.
I draped an arm around her shoulders. “Is this about Ella?”
She slumped in her seat and released a breath. “It’s honestly not, hon. I’m just…floundering. Trying to figure out who I am without her.”
That made sense. I’d floundered a bit myself after I’d broken up with Robert. Though, to be honest, I’d mostly been a coward. I’d known for a long time something was wrong. I’d just lived in denial. I’d tried to stick to my commitment.
“Do you miss her?” I wondered.
She pursed her lips and offered a slow shake of her head. “I thought I did. Up until about a month ago, but… No. With the way she left and how she betrayed me, it was like a switch flipped overnight. I’ve mourned the good years we had and the dreams I thought we shared, and now…I don’t know. I think I’m done with relationships altogether. I’ll stick to play partners and one-nighters.”
I frowned. I’d said the same thing after my ex, when I’d been too much of a chickenshit to immediately claim Cam. Regardless of how wrong Robert had been for me, a failed relationship hurt. I’d taken it very personally. And I’d erected walls around myself afterward. I’d sought out Cam at every event, all while keeping my physical distance and vowing to myself that I only wanted something casual.
“Do you remember what you told me when I said I was going to approach Cameron for a casual arrangement?”
She lifted a brow and glanced up at me. “That you were an idiot.”
I nodded. “You’re an idiot, Penelope. You’ve never been casual. That’s not who you are.”
“It’s not who I was,” she corrected stubbornly. “I’m not the same woman anymore. Who knows, maybe the casual route will make me happy.”
And maybe brats could form a rational thought.
“Baby, that’s the fourth time I’ve seen you rub at your chest in the last half hour,” KC told me. “I want you to take your anxiety meds, your painkillers, and go to bed.”