Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
My traitor of a firstborn was giggling madly in Mira’s old room, and she was spurring him on with comments like, “Didn’t he look like a clown?” and “Look at that hair.”
I rolled my eyes and moved on. Not opening that door, knowing my son and daughter were sleeping peacefully with Jake’s girl.
Okay, he was obviously not up here.
Then I came to a stop on the stairs. Found you, gorgeous. Through the little window surrounded by photos of weddings and christenings, I spotted both Jake and Greer in the driveway shooting hoops.
They’d worked up a sweat, so they’d probably been out there a minute.
I smiled automatically. One linebacker going up against a quarterback, who would win? Jake was faster. Greer was stronger—not necessarily the quality you wanted in basketball, but he had stamina too. Then again, so did Jake.
How many times had I asserted myself in that driveway? Cullen and I were the reigning champs of the family. Greer wasn’t far behind.
Curious about how the game would turn out, I hurried downstairs and stopped at the window in the hallway instead. It extended a bit outside the rest of the house so I could see better.
Jake scored, to which Greer cursed and made a go-again motion. Then he yanked his tee over his head and tossed it onto the hedge.
Jake spoke while he dribbled, but I couldn’t decipher the words. It was more than a simple “Goddammit.” Maybe trash talk? His smirk indicated hell-raisin’. I was totally rooting for him. Greer was too good at goading the rest of us. We knew how to turn shit into a pissing contest.
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as I watched them. Jake, mainly. How well he fit in here. How much he knew and cared about everyone.
I was never gonna get over him. I’d once called him the first love of my life, and I knew very well it went beyond that. He was the only one.
They went back and forth, scoring plenty, provoking each other even more, and laughing when they fucked up and dropped the ball.
I cocked my head as Greer went up against Jake, dribbling the ball quickly, with Jake trying to steal. Personal space—fucking gone. They seemed…awfully comfortable with each other. Greer barked out a laugh and almost lost the ball, but he managed to hold on to it—until it bounced off Jake’s foot and ricocheted out on the street.
“Look what you did!” Jake laughed, out of breath.
“Me?!” Greer spun around, and instead of going after the ball, he got in Jake’s face.
My stomach tightened painfully. The switch was so fucking sudden that I didn’t know how to react. One second, they were messing around. And now… That was flirting. Holy fuck, no. They were locked in some heated stare-down, each man daring the other to fold.
Fold, fold, fucking fold!
I stared in horror as Greer said something in Jake’s ear, and what did my buddy do? He fucking nodded. Then they headed for the garage, with Greer stepping through the door first and Jake closing it.
This wasn’t fucking happening.
I was gonna be sick.
I broke the cardinal rule and entered a room where two infants and a toddler slept. Fuck lunch. I had no appetite. I passed the little sofa that could only be comfortable to an almost three-year-old, and I aimed at the bed where someone had bundled Adam and Callie.
The curtains were already drawn, so all I had to do was squeeze in next to Adam. I removed my shoes and carefully slipped under the covers, and I moved a couple pillows around to get comfortable. They had a new barrier to keep them from rolling off the bed, which wasn’t gonna happen anyway. Callie was so far ahead of her brother; she could almost roll from her tummy to her back, but not the other way around.
I pressed a featherlight kiss to Adam’s little head and just watched them.
I’d once asked Jake if this was gonna hurt, and he’d said probably.
We’d been right.
This was what we’d agreed to. I’d move on with Sandra, and he would…figure out who he was. With other men.
Like my own goddamn brother.
“But I have you two and Cas,” I whispered. “Youse’re obligated to love me forever.”
Motherfuckers. Jake and Greer? Un-fucking-likely. To have fun…? Maybe. I doubted it, but maybe. Nothing serious, however. I knew what Greer was into, and it sure as fuck wasn’t tops.
Whatever this was would pass, and Jake would be one step closer to exploring something more. Like dating. Like hooking up in gay bars. Fuck if I knew. Well, I knew one thing. Jake was slipping through my fingers, even though I’d never had him in the palm of my hand to begin with.
Adam suckled at his pacifier and turned his face toward his sister.
I closed my eyes and let out a breath.