Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 212458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1062(@200wpm)___ 850(@250wpm)___ 708(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 212458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1062(@200wpm)___ 850(@250wpm)___ 708(@300wpm)
Sean approaches, the proffered cigars held out as he drops a book of matches on the table.
“Congrats, man.” I slap his back while taking a cigar and slipping it into my shirt pocket for later.
“Thanks. Nine pounds. We’re calling him Arsen.”
“Awesome, man.”
Roxy brings over a tray with a bottle of whisky and a couple stacks of shot glasses. As soon as she sets the tray down, Sean starts pouring.
I see a flash of light and there’s my mate, lighting a cigar. I watch as she hollows her cheeks to do it and my jeans are suddenly tight in the crotch.
Multiple sets of eyes in the vicinity light up as my mate blows out a plume of smoke. “I’m Amelia. Amie,” she says, extending her free hand toward Sean.
“I know,” Sean says with a smile, squeezing her hand.
“How?”
“You smell like this guy,” Sean replies, gesturing to me.
Amie laughs it off. “Congratulations there, dude. First baby?”
Sean smiles big. “Thank you. I’m Sean.” He lets go to pass her the first poured shot. “Third baby.”
“You guys done then?” she asks.
“Done?”
“Done having kids.”
He laughs. “No. Why?”
“That’s a houseful of kids,” she says.
He shrugs. “We’ll be done when we’re done.”
She laughs and touches her shot glass to his. They both toss their drinks back at the same time.
Guess we’re not heading home quite yet.
***
“You owe us,” Cicely says to me a few minutes later, sitting in Amelia’s empty chair beside me.
The chair is empty because my woman is again dancing and she’s doing it with my mother (who already drunkenly told me that she loves her new daughter). Amie pointed at her. “It’s not tomorrow yet! Tonight you’re not the monster-in-law, you’re the bestie.”
My mother apologized to Amie and then they hugged and laughed.
Mom, Amelia, and Bailey are dancing to that Shoop song Roxy puts on whenever this joint has more than a few girls as it never fails to get them all up dancing. Except Cicely. Cicely doesn’t generally get up to dance with the women.
Yeah, these women are all sloshed. Amelia’s dancing drunkenly, laughing and singing the lyrics, looking lost in her own world and perfectly at home in mine. She and my mother start bumping hips and I can’t help but laugh.
“Owe you for what?” I inquire belatedly, tearing my attention away from the dance floor.
“Babysitting,” she replies with a smile.
“What’s the price?” I ask instead of pointing out she tagged along, and it was my mother and father that were tasked with watching my baby today, not Cicely and Bailey.
“You let us take her out again soon. She’s a hoot.”
I smile.
“You look at her like you wanna lock her up in your bedroom and never let her out again.”
I snicker.
“Congrats again, Mase,” she says. “She’s great.”
“Thanks, Sis.”
“But…” she starts, and her expression goes grave.
I straighten and wait for her to finish.
She squeezes my forearm.
“You’ve got a lot and I mean a lotta work to do. That girl hurts. She puts on a brave face but it’s gonna take work to get her to believe.” She drops her chin and looks straight into my eyes with a knowing look. Cicely has always been intuitive.
She then squeezes my arm affectionately again and moves aside.
I feel heat on the back of my neck, so I turn to the side and see Amelia’s eyes on me. They’re laser-sharp and it takes a second to realize that there’s possessiveness coming from her. I like it, too.
I smile at her and she seems to shake it off before winking in reply, then twirling. After the twirl, she exaggeratedly bumps hips with the nearest female body, which happens to be Bailey’s. Bailey stumbles and nearly falls. Amelia catches her and several girls on the dancefloor break out into fits of giggles as Bailey’s cheeks go red with embarrassment and she covers her face with her hands.
I catch sight of Grey, Linc, and Jase over at a table in the corner and my expression drops. I can tell that Grey’s news about Riley sobered them up a little. I’m about to head that way when the back doors of the joint are thrown wide. Cade waves everyone out. He’s been working on a bonfire.
Whenever Roxy’s gets nearly full and they think people are about to get rowdy, they open things up to the back patio. It’s not unwise. All this testosterone in closed quarters, it never takes long before roughhousing starts, putting the furniture and other people in harms’ way.
Another group files into the place and I recognize some of them as Sean’s relatives by sight and know by scent that they are all related. Some are local, some not, so must’ve traveled in with news of the birth. Roxy brings over another bottle of whisky and more shot glasses. And I suspect Cade saw them pull up or heard they were on their way and decided to open up the back doors.