Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
I dropped my purse and laptop bag by the living room door and threw my coat over them. I went to Neil’s side and dropped a check, written for five-thousand dollars, into his lap. “I wrote it in the car.”
“You should have written it while we were on the phone.” He looked up and gave me a wink as he tore the slip of paper in half. “I didn’t wait for dinner. I thought I might starve to death before you arrived.”
“Ha ha.” I collapsed beside him on the couch, and he put an arm around me so I could lean against his chest. “I have to break some bad news to you.”
“Well, it’s probably going to be better if you say it all at once,” he advised, working his fingertips into my hair to massage my scalp.
I was loath to stop the petting. “There’s an advanced copy of Steven’s book. Valerie gave it to me last night. I didn’t want to ruin your birthday.”
His hand went very still, his body slightly rigid. “You…you didn’t read it, did you?”
I sat up, so I could look him in the eye and promise, “No. I will never read that book without your permission to do so.”
He seemed to ease up a bit. “Thank you for telling me about this now, rather than weeks from now.”
“I’m showing progress.” I paused. “There’s more. The book is going to come out in June. As in, the June when we’re getting married and Emma is having the baby.”
“He never was good with timing.” Neil was going for grim humor, but he didn’t quite make the humor half. “I suppose I’ll have to read it.”
“I don’t think anyone would expect you to.”
“No, I have to read it,” he insisted. “I need to know what he’s going to say about me, and our relationship. I don’t want it to come as a shock if I’m asked about it. Our wedding is going to bring us a bit of attention, and I’d like to prepare my response should this come up.”
“Probably smart.” I quirked my lips sympathetically and put a hand on his knee. “I’m going to get my food. Do you wanna come with?”
He set his iPad aside and we went to the kitchen, where I found a container of fennel and beans waiting for me. My stomach was eating itself. I put the food in the microwave and hit the button.
“So. Are you okay?” I asked, reaching into the beverage cooler for a bottled water. I leaned against the fridge to drink.
“I think so?” Neil hopped up to sit on the island countertop.
“Oh my god, get down! What are you, nine?” I spluttered, mid-swallow.
“Yes, mother.” He rolled his eyes playfully, but obeyed. “I’m strangely energized by this. Maybe, because I’ve been dreading it so much, it’s almost a relief being closer to getting it all over with.”
“You’re actually fine with this?” Whether I believed him or not, I would still be running in full-time observation mode. He’d been doing so well with not drinking, I felt like I had to protect his progress.
He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shrugged. “At the moment. Five minutes from now, who knows?”
“Fair enough.” The microwave beeped, and I retrieved my dinner. I was so hungry I starting eating while standing there in front of the open door.
“You worked quite late. How are things at the magazine?” he asked, sitting on one of the tall stools on the other side of the island.
“Busy. But I kind of brought that on myself.” I covered my mouth with the back of the hand that held my fork as I talked around my food. “I’ve been taking a lot of time off lately.”
“You have,” he agreed. “I blame myself for most of that.”
“Nah. I just need to buckle down and get ahead of things, instead of keeping up with them.” I set my plate on the countertop and reached for my water. There was a heartbeat of silence between us before I swallowed and asked, “How did you do it? Balance work and family?”
He inhaled and lifted one hand to cup his chin thoughtfully. “I didn’t. Valerie was always better with that, even though she had Emma less. Emma spent more time with her nanny than with either of us, because we were both working so much.”
I shook my head and looked down. “Ugh, that was not the answer I wanted.”
“What answer did you want?” he asked, laughing gently. “Starting a company is difficult, but it’s even more so when it becomes very successful, very early. Your magazine is starting off well, and that creates certain demands. I think you’re doing wonderfully.”
“I thought we moved to the Hamptons to settle down, but we’re still fighting to make time for each other.” I couldn’t find the magical key to controlling the situation, and it was driving me batty. “You retired so we could be together.”