Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Even though he hasn’t technically moved in yet, he’s been staying here every night since he talked with Caleb last week.
“He takes Caleb on a special guys-only shopping day before Christmas every year.”
“So I can get Mom something,” Caleb adds and helps me crack an egg into the mixing bowl. “We’re making cookies for Mom’s party tomorrow night.”
“Will you miss this one?” Drew asks as he picks up a gingerbread man and bites off his arm.
“Not now,” I reply with a laugh. “How did it go at the gym?”
“It was good. Most of my guys were in today, even though they have a couple of days off before Sunday’s game, with Christmas falling on Saturday.”
“I want to go to the game,” Caleb announces, and my eyes meet Drew’s across the island. “I never get to go, and I want to watch the guys play and Drew coach. Can we go, Mom?”
“You know, buddy, we’ve talked about this before. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Maybe you could just think about it,” Caleb suggests just as we hear the front door open and Rome call out that he’s here. “Ah, man, I’m gonna miss the gooey butter cookies.”
“They’ll be here when you get home,” I remind him and smile at my brother as he saunters into the kitchen. “Hey. Want some cookies?”
“Always.” He nods to Drew and then smiles down at Caleb. “Hey, have you seen Caleb around here? He’s a little kid, much smaller than you.”
“Ha ha, it’s me, Uncle Rome.”
“What? You grew ten inches since I saw you last.”
Caleb laughs as he runs into the mudroom to fetch his coat and shoes. “I know what I want to get for Mom.”
“Don’t say it in here,” Rome advises, “like you did last year.”
“I won’t.” Caleb hurries over to hug me, does the same to Drew, and then he’s running for the front door. “Let’s go!”
“That kid never stops moving,” Rome says, shaking his head. “Good thing I haven’t worked out yet today. We’ll be back in a few hours. I’m going to take him to lunch.”
“Have fun,” I say with a wave and finish setting cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet, then pop them into the oven.
“You weren’t kidding the first time you showed me this kitchen,” Drew says as he finishes his cookie. “You do use the entire island for this project.”
“I love spreading out while I bake. Besides, cookies take up a lot of room.”
I roll more butter cookies and place them onto the next cookie sheet.
“Maybe we should talk about you and Caleb coming to the game on Sunday,” Drew says, making me frown. “I’m not trying to be pushy; just hear me out.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“My family has a box. They’ve owned it for as long as I can remember. Probably long before me. Anyway, some of the parents and cousins come to the games and hang out in the box. You should bring Caleb and hang out there, rather than in the owner’s suite. No one would be looking for you in our family suite, and you can relax a little.”
“It does sound like a decent compromise,” I admit as I set the last ball on a sheet, then turn to the sink and wash my hands. Honestly, I’d really like to watch Drew in action on the field. They don’t show him much on the television. More than that, I want to support him and my team.
“I think my parents plan to go,” Drew continues. “They usually like to go to the Christmas game when we’re at home. Caleb will get a kick out of it. You can even make it one of his holiday presents.”
“He would love that,” I concede with a sigh as I turn back to Drew. “Okay, we can try it. If the press becomes crazy, I won’t take him again.”
“My family members are a bunch of pros at avoiding the press,” he assures me. “We’ll make it work.”
The oven signals that it’s time to take out the cookies, so I grab a mitt and retrieve the tray, but before I can slide the next one in, Drew stops me.
“Wait on that, will you?”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to worry about the house burning to the ground while I do this.”
He pulls the mitt off my hand and tosses it aside, then frames my face in his hands and kisses the ever-loving hell out of me.
“I don’t know if you noticed,” he says against my neck as he nibbles his way down, pushing my shirt aside, then simply pulls it over my head and tosses it onto the floor, “but we’re all alone. For several hours.”
“You know, I did notice that.” I giggle and then sigh when he removes my bra and teases the hard nubs with his thumbs. “I suppose the only right thing to do is to take advantage of it.”