Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I sip my coffee while the croissants start their first prove, and then I start thinly slicing fruit for a breakfast tart. Luke walks into the kitchen when my fingers are sticky with sweet raspberry juice. He comes up behind me, his hands sliding around my stomach, up underneath my shirt as he tugs me back against him. The sensation of his palm dragging across my navel elicits a whole swarm of butterflies.
“No more sleeping in separate rooms.” His face presses against my hair. “I missed you all night.”
“Well good morning.” I barely manage the words without sounding completely lovestruck. I clear my throat and try again. “Morning.”
He laughs and reaches out to take my wrist firmly in his hand. I’m confused for a moment as he lifts it up toward his mouth, but then he gently sucks the raspberry juice dripping down my finger.
My jaw widens so much it practically comes unhinged.
Wellllll good morning to you, sir. I need to go swap my panties now.
“Tastes good,” he says, all husky and sexy.
It’s barely 7:00 in the morning! 7:00 in the morning!
“Really? C’mon, can’t you two like keep it contained to certain hours? Say 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM?”
Tate’s taunt sounds behind me, and while I startle and make to step away from Luke, he keeps his arms clamped tightly around me. The point is clear.
Tate smiles wide. “So it’s officially official. Look at you two. Is that even edible at this point?” She points to the fruit then arches her brow at us. “From the looks of this tableau…probably not.”
I laugh and slide away from Luke so I can wash my hands at the sink. “It’s perfectly fine. Your brother was just telling me good morning.”
“By humping you in the kitchen?”
A laugh bursts out of me before I can help it.
Luke sighs deeply, like five days with his sister is officially enough days.
“When are you leaving again?”
“Driver’s coming to pick me up in an hour.”
“Perfect,” I butt in. “This tart won’t need long in the oven because I’ve already blind-baked the crust.”
Her eyes narrow in confusion. “You did what now?”
“Never mind. Point is, I’ll have food on the table in thirty minutes if”—I look pointedly at Luke—“you leave me alone.”
He holds his hands up in mock innocence. “I won’t cause any trouble.”
I hurry back over to start assembling my fruit in the crust. Fruit tarts would usually take me a little longer, but I want Tate to get to eat before she leaves, so I don’t worry about making the pattern too precise as I layer fruits in concentric circles: kiwis, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries. Harper’s going to love it.
While I’m finishing up with breakfast, Tate sets the table and starts to clean the kitchen a bit. I tell her she doesn’t need to, but she just ignores me. Harper comes in, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She walks right up to me and hugs my waist.
“You didn’t do kisses at the door last night.”
Oh no!
I hug her close.
“I’m sorry. You went to sleep before I got home, or I definitely would have remembered.”
“Tonight?” she asks, hopeful.
I brush her tangled hair out of her face. “Tonight. Absolutely. Now, do you want to help me serve this fancy fruit tart to everyone?”
Her eyes light up when she sees it up on the counter where it’s cooling. “It’s so colorful.”
We eat around the breakfast table, Luke sitting beside me with his arm slung across the back of my chair. Harper squeezes close to Tate, wanting to make the most of her last few minutes with her aunt.
After breakfast, Harper tears up a little when Tate’s driver arrives.
“You’ll see me soon,” Tate assures her. “You’ll be coming back to the city any day now.”
She shakes her head. “But there are still a few weeks left of summer. We’ll stay out here, won’t we?”
Harper looks back to Luke, who then looks to me.
Tate chuckles and shakes her head. “Looks like you all have a lot to talk about. Let me know if I can help. I’m just a phone call away.” She bends and spreads her arms out so Harper can run toward her. She squeezes her neck in a tight embrace. “Love you, kiddo. Be good for your dad and Chloe, okay?”
“I’m always good for Chloe!”
We stand out front as her car pulls away. Harper hangs on to her dad’s waist, sniffling.
“Hey, why don’t we head down to the beach?” Luke suggests. “I didn’t get to go with you guys the other day, and we might not be staying out here in the Hamptons too much longer. We should go soak up the sun while we can.”
Harper perks right up at the idea of spending her day in the sun and the sand.
She starts running back into the house. “I’ll go get my mermaid Barbies!”