Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Hey,” Willa says with a bright smile when she sees me approach the counter. “How has your day been?”
“Not bad,” I reply, holding the latte out for her. “Something to warm you up.”
“You’re sweet,” she murmurs, then takes a sip of her drink. “Thank you.”
“Is Alex here?”
“He just got here. He took Rocky to the office with him.”
I nod, but before I walk to the back, I sneak behind the counter and bury my face in her neck, breathing her in.
“Missed you today,” I whisper.
“I’m right here,” she whispers back.
“Missed you all the same.” I pull back and smile down into her gorgeous face. “Hey, I’m hosting family dinner tomorrow at my place. Brad and Hannah are coming home today.”
“I know, I texted Hannah this morning.”
“Will you and Alex come?”
She bites her lip and nods. “Of course. Do you want me to cook?”
“No.” I scowl and squeeze her hand. “I want you to come and eat good food and hang out with my family. No cooking required.”
I plant a quick kiss on her lips, then pull away to walk back to the office. Alex is at his desk, but he’s not working on schoolwork. No, he’s teaching Rocky tricks.
“Sit,” he instructs, but the puppy bounces up to lick his face. Alex giggles. “No, silly. You’re supposed to sit.”
He puts Rocky on his back haunches and repeats, “Sit. Good boy.”
Rocky gobbles up the offered treat.
“This doesn’t look like math,” I say, grinning when Alex looks up in surprise. “How was school?”
“Dumb,” he grumbles.
“Why was it dumb?”
I sit next to him and set the bag of groceries on Willa’s desk.
“Because kids are mean.”
I nod. Man, no truer words. But I swear to God, if someone’s been shitty to this kid, I will bring hellfire down on that school.
And pull my funding.
“Was someone mean to you today?”
Alex shrugs his little shoulders and pets Rocky, who’s curled up in his lap.
“Some kids said I was a geek.” He looks up at me. “Have you ever been called a geek?”
“Sure,” I say with a nod, relieved that it’s this and not something way worse. Not that being called names is okay, but I’ve heard horror stories from my friends about their kids being bullied. “I mean, you’re talking to the guy who works on a computer all the time.”
“But what you do is cool,” Alex says.
“Why did they say you’re a geek?”
“Because I like Star Wars and I like to build stuff. And I didn’t want to go outside to play soccer. We could choose between that or staying inside to read, and I wanted to read.”
“I don’t blame you, it’s darn cold outside today.”
“Yeah, and I’m reading a cool Goosebumps book that I got for my birthday. But then they said I was being a geek.”
“Well, I think that all of those things sound great, and if that’s what being a geek is, then I guess I’m a geek, too.”
Alex smiles softly. “Yeah?”
“Absolutely. Maybe those kids are jealous because they don’t read as well as you.”
He thinks that over as he pets his puppy.
“Maybe,” he finally says. “But I wouldn’t say bad stuff to them just because they don’t read good.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” I ruffle his hair. I want to pull him to me for a big hug, but I don’t want to cross any lines. It’s still early for all of us. “Because you’re a good kid.”
“I guess it’s good that I like to read. Mom says it is.”
“Your mom’s smart,” I reply with a nod. “And I agree. Reading is very good.”
He nods again. “Okay. I just wish they wouldn’t laugh and stuff. They’re just…dumb.”
“That behavior is dumb. And now you know how it feels, so you won’t ever treat anyone else that way.”
“No, I won’t do that.”
I pull the pretzel sticks, peanut butter, and hummus out of the grocery bag and get ready to change the subject.
“What’s that for?” Alex asks.
“It’s to snack on while we do math. I had an idea on how to help with division.”
We settle in, working on the problems, using the sticks. They’re great as visual aids to help Alex grasp the idea.
“Do you want peanut butter or hummus?” I ask.
He scowls at me. “I’m nine, not forty. I don’t want hummus.”
I snort, then do my best to look offended. “Hey, I’m not forty.”
“Are you my mom’s age?”
“I’m a year older than her.”
“See?” Alex crunches on a stick. “Old.”
“That’s the last time I bring in snacks,” I reply, making him laugh. Alex takes a bite of his pretzel, then offers the rest to Rocky, who snatches it right up.
“Hi, guys,” Willa says, poking her head in. “How’s it going back here?”
“Good,” Alex responds. “We have snacks.”
“Mm, pretzel sticks.” She reaches out to grab some, but I shake my head.
“Are you doing math?”
She arches an eyebrow in that way that makes my dick twitch. Way inappropriate around the boy. “Not at the moment.”