Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Yeah, she’s gonna be fine.”
“She told us she fell, but she was scared...Scared like she used to be.” His eyes filled with emotion as he admitted, “We know it was Dad.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“It’s not the first time he’s done something like this.”
I heard the pain in his voice as he spoke. There was a time when I’d felt that exact pain. Mine continued through my entire childhood. The same wouldn’t hold true for him. I’d make sure of that. “Maybe not, but it will be the last.”
“We’ve heard that before. From both Mom and Dad.”
“Maybe so, but you haven’t heard it from me.” Sean’s eyes widened with hope, and it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as I said, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your mom. You don’t have to worry. Not anymore.”
“Okay.” When I turned to make my coffee, Sean called my name. “Widow?”
“Yeah?”
“I like having you around, and I think Mom does, too.”
“Thanks, bud. I like being around you guys, too.”
“You should move in with us.”
I could’ve told him that I’d already had that conversation with his mother, but I simply replied, “Maybe someday.”
“Cool.”
With that, he got up and darted out of the room. Half an hour later, the boys were getting on the bus and heading to school. I went back to Frankie’s room and was pleased to see she’d fallen back asleep. The rest would do her good, and it would give me a chance to check in with the club. I had to let Viper know that I’d be looking after Frankie and the boys for a couple of days. As I’d expected, he didn’t give me any grief about it. He knew how much she meant to me—even before I did. I didn’t know if Frankie was my soulmate, and fate had finally brought us together or if it was the simple fact that out of all the men in the world she’d chosen me to love. Either way, I was going to be the man she needed me to be—the man she deserved for me to be.
Chapter 20
Frankie
When I was married to Marc, I didn’t have many friends. He was always so suspicious of every move I made. If I happened to go to lunch with an old college friend or someone I knew in high school, he’d call a million times trying to catch me in a lie. At the time, I didn’t realize it was because he was cheating. I just assumed it was another way he was trying to control me and just gave up on trying to have friends altogether. I focused on spending time with my boys and getting the coffee shop off the ground. There were times when I was lonely, very lonely, so needless to say, I was excited about my girls night out with the ol’ ladies. I had such a great time with them at dinner. They were all so sweet and funny, and even though we’d really just met, they made me feel like I was part of the group.
When they mentioned going to the club to have a drink with the guys, I immediately agreed, thinking it would be a great way to get to know them a little better, and I’d get to spend some time with Roman. I thought it was a win-win until we arrived at Stilettoes—the strip club, not the clubhouse. I’d never been to a strip club, but I didn’t tell any of them that, fearing they might think I was a prude. I simply did my best to feign a smile and followed them inside. But as soon as we walked through the door and I heard the loud music, saw the flickering stage lights and beautiful women, my smile vanished as my mouth fell open with surprise. I’d hoped none of the ol’ ladies noticed my startled reaction, but no such luck. Marlowe started to giggle as she leaned over to me and said, “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“This your first time at the club?”
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever been to any strip club.”
“I was the same way. Girl, I can still remember my first time.” Delilah laughed as she said, “All the boobs had me feeling a little insecure, but now, it doesn’t bother me like it used to. We’ve all gotten to know most of the girls, and they’re all really sweet.”
We made our way through the crowd and over to the table where the guys were sitting. As soon as he spotted us, Roman got up and grabbed me a chair, placing it right next to him. Once I was seated, he asked, “You girls have a good time at dinner?”
“Yeah. It was really nice. They’re super sweet and kind of filled me in on their side of the club stuff.” I glanced around at all the scantily dressed waitresses as I said, “They didn’t tell me much about this place, though. Just that Marlowe bartends here a few days a week.”