Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” I pseudo-groan, rolling my eyes.
“Nope.” He grins and slides his arms around my waist, pulling me even closer, his nose pressed to mine. “Not while I’m around. And I plan on being around for a fuck of a long time, Dove.”
Now that, I really like the sound of.
“Come on, Mommy! It’s time!”
I walk—sorry, waddle over to where Gigi is with her dad and her aunt and uncles, who were tasked with handing out the Chinese lanterns and a lighter to all the adults present at Gigi’s fifth birthday party. This includes the parents of her friends from pre-K, Aunt Elle—or Mom, as I call her nowadays—and surprisingly, Zeus’s dad, Brett, who has been sober for three months after entering a rehab program after Zeus told him that I was pregnant. I don’t know why me being pregnant kick-started his attempt to get sober, but I’m glad it has, and I pray for Zeus and the rest of his siblings that it sticks this time.
Zeus and I agreed that, as Brett is genuinely trying, he could finally meet Gigi, which he did for the first time a month ago. To say he’s completely smitten with her is putting it mildly. She has Grandpa Brett wrapped around one of her fingers. The other is reserved for Zeus. And Ares, Lo, and Missy.
Also, here at the party is Kaden Scott. He recently moved here to a new facility. He’s living in his own place and going in for outpatient treatment.
Zeus and I talked about it, and him being in Arizona, without anyone there, probably wasn’t good for his mental state. So, we looked into treatment centers here and found a great one in New York. We flew down to Arizona one weekend, and I got to finally meet him after talking with him on the phone. We discussed the idea with him, and he was on board.
He’s been here for three months, and he’s just like another member of the family. The great news is that he hasn’t been relying on his wheelchair as much, and he has been getting around on crutches.
So, everyone who matters to us is here.
And my baby has turned five. I’m six months pregnant, and I’m totally not crying.
Okay, maybe I’m crying a bit. But these damn pregnancy hormones have got me all topsy-turvy. Even more so since I found out that we’re having another girl, so Gigi gets to have a sister. I never had a sister, but I always really wanted one…and here I go again with the waterworks.
I press my fingers under my eyes, stopping the emotion.
“You okay, babe?” Zeus quietly asks me as I near him.
“Yep. Just hormones setting me off, like usual.”
He grins at me, that smile tugging on my heart, making me want to start blubbering again. He reaches out and grabs my hand, tugging me to him, softly kissing me on the lips.
“Love you,” he says low.
“Love you, too.”
“Okay, enough with the PDA,” Lo complains. “It’s grossing me out.”
“They kisses alls the time, Uncle Lo,” Gigi tells him, giggling.
Lo picks Gigi up, setting her on his hip. “I feel your pain, kid. I had to put up with seeing them kiss all the time when I was a teenager.”
“He’s just jealous, Gigi girl, because no one wants to date him,” Missy teases him.
“No one wants to date you, Uncle Lo?” Gigi looks genuinely concerned for her uncle.
“Everyone wants to date me,” Lo assures Gigi, tossing a glare in Missy’s direction, who just laughs at him. “Just ask Ares how much puss—”
“Lo…” Zeus warns.
“What’s puss?” Gigi harps.
“Puss is another word for cats,” Ares jumps in, taking Gigi from Lo and setting her up on one of his shoulders, holding her there with his arm.
Sorry, Lo mouths to me.
I smile, telling him it’s fine.
“Uncle Lo’s getting a kitty?” Gigi’s face lights up.
“That’s the only puss he’ll be getting,” Missy quips in a low voice.
I snigger.
Lo gives her a dirty look. “Ares, tell our sister how many phone numbers I got last night.”
“He did get a lot,” Ares tells Missy.
Lo gives Missy a see-I-told-you-so look.
“You called any of them yet?” she asks.
“No.” He gives her an appalled look. “I don’t wanna look desperate.”
“The only thing you’ll look desperate for is a pizza or a cab when you start calling all those fake numbers you were given.”
Laughter bursts out of me. I told you, my hormones are all over the place.
The look on Lo’s face has me laughing more. It’s a mixture of annoyance with a flicker of, Shit, is she right?
“Totally gonna go check those numbers now, aren’t ya?” Missy prods, winding him up.
“You’re a…” Lo pauses, searching for what I’m guessing is a kid-friendly comeback. “Female dog.”
“Female dog!” Missy laughs, and so do I.