Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Titus loved me and I was beginning to think that he loved my girls just as much.
Unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea what to do about it.
Chapter 12
Titus
The entire way home, I debated whether or not to tell Noel that my uncle had been keeping tabs and her father-in-law was in town. On one hand, I didn’t want to worry her. There was no way that he knew where she lived anymore. On the other hand, now that she had a car, she and the girls were venturing out pretty often and I didn’t want her to run into him somewhere and have the rug jerked out from under her. It was a double edged sword, wanting her to be able to live without the constant cloud of them hanging over her and the fear that if I didn’t prepare she’d be caught unaware.
I pulled up the driveway slowly in case the girls were playing outside, but I didn’t see them anywhere just as I realized that Myla’s little SUV was pulled in haphazardly next to Noel’s car. I cursed under my breath as I pulled into the open garage.
Myla and the girls had agreed to wait and give Noel and the girls a little time to settle in before descending on the house, but it looked like the reprieve was over. I could only imagine what they were talking about as I parked and hurried toward the back door.
They were in the kitchen, music playing on the speakers, Frankie laughing loudly when I made my way inside.
“You’re home,” Noel greeted, her smile wide. “Myla came to visit.”
“I see that,” I murmured, toeing off my boots as I glared at my sister.
“I gave them over a week to get used to you,” Myla said, laughing. “I thought Noel might appreciate some company after having to deal with you guys.”
“I made tacos,” Noel said, glancing between me and Myla.
“She even made homemade tortillas,” Myla added gleefully.
“Oh, great,” I replied, kicking my boots against the wall. “You’re stayin’ for dinner.”
“Don’t be rude,” Noel scolded.
I wasn’t sure which of us were more surprised as our eyes met. Her cheeks turned pink.
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, making her blush even deeper.
“I made a bird,” Diana called, running toward me as she flapped a piece of paper in front of her. “I made a bird!”
“You did!” I said, looking at the picture she held out proudly. It looked like a circle with three legs. “Nice job!” I lifted her up as she beamed, shoving the paper in my face.
“What time are the boys coming home?” Frankie asked as I carried Diana toward the dining room table. It was covered with crayons and about fifty sheets of copy paper, more than half of them already drawn on. Lou was at the opposite side, quietly drawing something with a crayon.
“Not sure,” I replied. “Hey mermaid,” I greeted Ariel, scrubbing my hand over her fine blond hair.
“Hi,” she replied, tilting her head back to look at me upside down.
“Her not a mermaid,” Diana said knowingly as I sat her in her little seat. “Her Ari.”
“My mistake,” I murmured.
“A mermaid like Ariel,” her older sister explained for the tenth time since me and the boys had started using the nickname. “From the movie.”
“I Diana,” Diana replied. “You Ari.”
“I know that,” Ariel said in exasperation.
I knew that tone, and exactly what it foretold. If someone didn’t change the subject, there was going to be an all out yelling match between the two. It was as if when Diana started talking more Ariel had stopped thinking of her as a baby and started thinking of her as a contemporary. The arguments were funny, but loud.
“Ariel,” Noel called, knowingly. “Could you start gathering up the paper, please? It’s almost time to set the table.”
The girls grumbled, but started cleaning up as soon as Lou reached for some of the papers.
“I don’t think Cian will be here for dinner,” Noel said as she started pulling plates down from the cupboard. “He mentioned that he might not be home.”
“Oh,” Myla replied. By the look on her face, she wasn’t sure if she liked that Noel had known that when she hadn’t.
Lou was quiet as she helped the girls clean up, but Frankie made a humming noise from her seat on the island.
“I got time to shower?” I asked Noel, stopping her with a hand at the base of her spine when she nearly backed into me. “I’ll take a quick one.”
“Sure,” she breathed.
For a moment, we were frozen like that. Then I dropped my hand and headed out of the kitchen before my sister could send me any knowing looks.
Living with Noel had turned out to be one of the best and most frustrating decisions I’d ever made. Best, because I could see her all the time. Frustrating, because every time we brushed against each other, which happened often because she was a fucking magnet, her voice got all breathy and my skin felt too tight for my body. It was the best kind of torture, but there was no end in sight.