Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
She was wearing dark gray sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt, her hair in a bun.
The cute blonde smiled just as another voice called out, “I don’t know how the hell I can hold so much pee in my body. I could have put out a fire with it.”
Just like that, Selene rolled her eyes the same exact way Alex did. “I didn’t mean to bring her, but she was waiting for me at my car, and I couldn’t convince her that she doesn’t buy groceries.” Those bright blue eyes slid slightly behind me, and I was pretty sure I saw her mouth a prayer under her breath.
“Bonjour, Gracie!” the same voice bellowed out as a woman, a young woman, even younger-looking than Selene, strolled up beside me and instantly threw her arms around me.
I only froze for a second before I hugged her back.
Who the hell was I to say no to a hug from a friendly stranger?
They were a touchy-feely bunch, I was starting to learn, which surprised the shit out of me. Even their grandmother had wanted another peck on her cheek when she’d left. Asami had planted one on mine along with the most gentle, big hug in the world after we’d played two tense games of Candy Land.
“Gracie, this is my niece, Hiromi,” Selene said.
Oh. “Oh, hi,” I told the curly-haired, dark blonde.
She pulled back and then gave me another tight, unexpected hug. She was shorter than Selene and had more of The Primordial’s frame than Selene’s long, lean one. Her skin was a shade close to mine, but where mine was more bronze, hers was a unique golden. She was beautiful. This whole family was. Their genetics were miraculous.
“It’s nice to meet you. I wanted to come by before, but Mom wanted to give you and Lexi some time to settle in. Sorry I had to use your bathroom. I drank a venti on my way to wait for Selene, and it makes me have to go pee like a busted fire hydrant.” Hiromi pulled back and dropped her arms, wiggling her eyebrows at Selene. “Wow, you weren’t joking. Uncle Lexi got really lucky.”
This family and their fucking secrets.
“It’s not my bathroom,” I told her, feeling shy all of a sudden. “Coffee makes me have to go pee like crazy too.”
A big, beautiful smile took over her equally beautiful face. “You live here. It is your bathroom.”
“Just for now,” I tried to clarify.
They looked at each other. Selene smiled almost innocently, but Hiromi just smirked.
I could smell bullshit a mile away, and I’d been dealing with Alex long enough to know when someone was being sneaky.
And this was his family. Sneakiness must run in it.
I didn’t know what was going on with these little looks, but….
Most of these people, they all gave me a good feeling.
Some more than others.
“Does it have to be so loud in here?” I yelled across the table.
“People don’t like to talk to each other anymore!” Selene yelled back at my question, nursing her bottle of beer beside me.
The niece and aunt, who really acted more like sisters, were sandwiching me between them at the bar we were at. I might have been the oldest, but they treated me like I was The Precious that had to be protected. I liked it more than I should have.
I’d told them a few days ago that I had never been to a bar with friends that were girls, and they’d taken it upon themselves to give me another experience. It was funny though because Selene couldn’t get drunk—just like Alex had said—and Hiromi had just turned twenty-one a few weeks ago. Selene only drank fruity beer—just like me—but not really anything else, and Hiromi mostly just guzzled Sprite with a lemon wedge. It was what she ordered the couple of times we’d gone out to eat dinner.
Because they were two of my newest friends.
“Speaking of not talking to each other,” Hiromi started, those bright eyes flicking toward me. “You still haven’t heard from Uncle Lexi?”
I shook my head, trying to be as casual as possible. Accepting reality wasn’t that difficult. I got where his priorities had to lie and why.
It had been a month since I’d last seen or heard from him.
At least in person.
I had laid eyes on him via television. Twice. The first had been when he’d helped with a collapsed building in Wales, and the second time had been during footage of a train accident in France.
It wasn’t like he was exactly crazy busy.
Which only meant one thing: he was avoiding me. I’d realized it and accepted that about two weeks ago when Selene and I had gone to lunch and she’d mentioned talking to Alex and how he had asked how I was doing. He didn’t call me to check in; he’d called his sister.