Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“See? There’s an upside already.” Daddy pulled me back against his chest and kissed my head. “We’re not going to worry about that, though.”
It was nice he was such a positive thinker.
It wasn’t helpful…but it was nice.
“Right now, I’m more worried about them overwhelming you and suffocating you.” Rubbing my back, Daddy gave me another kiss. “They don’t understand personal space or privacy or common sense. So I’m going to apologize right now for whatever rude thing they say or stupid question they ask.”
I was going to have to tell Leander about this…Daddy thought they were going to be the problem, not me.
“I can be patient.” Hopefully. “And I won’t tell them if they ask a stupid question and I won’t act bored even if I’m bored. I can do that.”
For a short period of time.
It was going to be fine…and I was going to keep telling myself that over and over.
Chapter 14
Enzo
“I have good news and bad news.” Terrence crossed his arms and shook his head before I could continue with the rest of my start. “Okay, I have good news and crafty news.”
Changing the conversation to add in the frustrating part wouldn’t be hard, so I switched gears quickly as he nodded.
“Good news is that Sergio told them that you liked cheeseburgers, so they’re grilling instead of doing a sit-down dinner.” He hadn’t helped on purpose, but it was helpful nonetheless. “That means no pasta and you’ll have an easier time escaping if they overwhelm you or if my great-uncle Alonzo asks you something inappropriate.”
When Terrence just cocked his head, I realized I’d never used his real name. “The old relative who’s got the memory issues. He thinks everyone new is someone he dated back in like, the roaring twenties or something, and he’s getting more and more inappropriate. I don’t know how he ever ended up married to a woman as boring as his wife was.”
It must have been a punishment of some kind, but we weren’t supposed to ask. However, he was making that really difficult based on the number of asses he kept grabbing when the family tried to take him anywhere.
He was completely banned from Walmart, and Target wasn’t looking good either at the rate he was going.
“Oh yes, I remember him.” Looking much more cheerful at the weird turn our conversation had taken, Terrence wiggled his ass. “I’m ready to be groped and look sympathetic afterward. I practiced that one.”
Of course he had.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Honestly, I did. “Carlo brought a girl to one of the family things about six months ago and she was horrified that Uncle Alonzo thought she was a boy.”
In his defense, she’d had really small breasts and a short haircut, but there was no way to explain that to a woman without it going badly about ninety percent of the time.
Even him being…well…not at his best wasn’t an excuse in her mind.
Terrence sighed. “You guys need better taste in women.”
Definitely.
“I don’t need better taste in anything because I found the best.” I just had to get him to realize that. “So you can help the rest of them make better choices.”
That almost got a giggle from him, but he still looked slightly skeptical even if he didn’t want to admit it. “Well, at the very least I can put up with Uncle Alonzo.”
“That’s going to be helpful. I appreciate it.” Walking over to him since he looked a lot less likely to shoot me, I wrapped my arms around my frustrated cutie and gave him another kiss. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
I really had been planning on slowly introducing him to my family. Terrence thrived on his own schedule and a lot of time to recharge between peopling. This was going to be hard on him.
“So they’re being very American and doing the whole cook-outside thing, but there will be lots of side dishes too. I have Carlo making sure there’s potato salad. Orlando has managed to convince his mother he really needs french fries, and Sergio is bringing a fruit tray. So there will be lots of grown-up things to eat and you can pick and choose what you think will make your little side pop out for a visit.”
I wasn’t sure anyone in the family would notice since he was cheerful and interesting to begin with, but he was worried about it, so I took it seriously.
“That’s wonderful.” Beaming at me, he gave me a quick kiss. “I like potatoes too but my little side isn’t obsessed with them, so we’re good.”
“Perfect.” We could practice staying big around mac and cheese type products later. “And to make sure getting ready is easy, we’re going to head over to my place as soon as you’re done with whatever you’ve been procrastinating about.”
He’d actually picked up the pile that was on the dining room table and reorganized it, so I knew he was avoiding something.