Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
He exhaled, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Just the thought of him treating you the way he used to—of anyone treating you badly—made me want to smash things.”
I smiled and reached for the phone, blocking the number he’d called me from. “No need to smash or burn. I can’t have you getting arrested before you win that Oscar.”
“Might be worth it,” he said.
Laughing, I rose to my feet and drew him up with me. Then I put my arms around his neck and held him close. “Niall would never be worth it. Like you said, he’s a nobody. And you’re my somebody.”
His embrace about swallowed me whole.
NINETEEN
dash
“The Taj Mahal!” Ari shouted.
“Yes!” Mabel pointed at her with the dry erase marker and jumped up and down. “Girls win again!”
It was the third time in a row the girls’ team—Veronica, Kelly, Ari, Mabel, and Adelaide—had beaten the boys’ team, consisting of Austin, Xander, me, Owen, and Dad.
“The Taj Mahal?” Xander, who’d hardly taken his arm off Kelly’s shoulder all night, got off the couch and went over to the board. “What about this scribbled mess says Taj Mahal to you?”
“The onion dome at the top,” Ari said. “It’s obvious.”
“No way. You guys cheat. I’ll never believe you don’t have some kind of subliminal messaging system.” Xander sank down next to Kelly, who patted his leg.
“It’s okay, honey. You don’t have to get mad just because your team didn’t recognize your blizzard.”
“Maybe if he’d drawn something resembling snow and not just a bunch of dots,” said Austin.
“I didn’t draw just dots,” Xander defended. “I drew swirling lines too. That was clearly wind, and it was obviously a blizzard.”
I laughed and rose to my feet. It was weird sitting all the way across the room from Ari. I was used to being close to her. “Should we play again? Mix up the teams?”
“This is like the only time in my life I wish I could play on the girls’ side,” grumbled Owen, who sat on the floor petting Fritz. “Every other time, I think they’re gross.”
My dad leaned forward and ruffled his hair. “You’ll change your mind someday.”
Owen snorted. “I doubt it.”
“We should probably head out.” Austin rose to his feet. “We’d like to get an early start on the road to Snowberry tomorrow. The kids and I want to hike the mountain trails.”
“And I want to visit the spa,” said Veronica. “Lexi says the salt water grotto is amazing.”
“Ooh, let’s do that too,” Mabel said to Ari.
“Sounds good to me.” She glanced my way and quickly tried to look as if she hadn’t.
We’d been playing this game for hours now—pretending there was nothing between us. Mabel hadn’t raised an eyebrow when we explained that Ari was having car trouble, so I’d volunteered to drive to the airport. Since Ari had always been around for pizza and game nights, no one thought it was out of the ordinary that she was here tonight.
But I was pretty sure everyone in the room knew what was going on except for Mabel.
“I guess I’ll take off too,” I said. “I still have to think about what I’m going to say during my toast.”
“I bet you could wing it and be totally fine,” Mabel said.
“Maybe, but I feel like I better not wing this one.”
“Before you all go,” my dad said. He moved to the edge of the couch and cleared his throat. “I have something to say.”
“What’s up, Dad?” Mabel asked.
“There’s, uh, someone I’d like you all to meet this weekend.”
Xander and Kelly exchanged a glance. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ari’s face turn in my direction.
“There is?” Austin looked puzzled.
“Yes. You see, I’ve, uh, decided to bring a guest to the wedding. A friend.” He sat up a little taller, squaring his shoulders. “A lady friend.”
“Oh,” said Veronica. “I think that’s wonderful, George. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Actually, you’ve met her.” My father looked a little sheepish and turned his focus to Kelly and Xander. “It’s Julia. Kelly’s mom.”
“Oh. Then I guess I have met her.” Veronica laughed heartily. “And it’s even more wonderful, because Julia is so sweet!” She looked over at Austin, who seemed to be frozen where he stood. “Don’t you think that’s wonderful, honey?”
“Yeah,” he said, recovering. “That’s great, Dad.”
“So she’s coming to the wedding?” Xander looked at Kelly. “Did you know about this?”
“I just found out this morning before I got on the plane,” she said, her expression a little guilty. “But Mom made me promise not to say a word until George brought it up.”
“She’s flying up early tomorrow,” Dad confirmed. “And I’ll pick her up and drive up to Snowberry a little later in the day.” He paused. “She has her own room, of course.”
“Of course,” I said, suppressing a grin.
“So, Dad, have you been seeing Julia for a while?” Austin asked, trying to piece it all together.