Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
To her shock, she found herself smiling.
“Now,” he said seriously. “Isla, when was the last time you had something to eat?”
Uh-oh.
“Um. Well.”
“We had breakfast. But we didn’t really eat lunch. Well, I had M&Ms and candy corn. Did you have any of my stash, La-la?”
“No.”
“What did you have for breakfast?” Eliot asked.
“Pancakes,” Marcus said.
Eliot reached over and placed his hand on Marcus’ knee. “I know you’re trying to help, Marcus but maybe we should hear this from Isla.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Great. Now they were both staring at her expectantly. She was so used to Marcus doing the talking. It was daunting having to do it herself. “Well, I didn’t actually eat any of the pancakes. I’m never really hungry in the morning.”
“So you haven’t eaten all day?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“And you barely ate any dinner last night,” Marcus said. “La-la.”
“I know. Sorry. I guess that’s why I was light-headed just before.”
“I would think so. I know I need to give you time to consider my proposal, but I cannot leave you until I know that you’re both healthy and taken care of. So, I’m going to have to insist that we either order in or go out to eat. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir. I mean, uh, Eliot.” She could feel herself bright red.
“Either is fine,” he said.
She sucked in a breath, feeling the longing for him well. But she wouldn’t do anything unless Marcus agreed.
“Are you sure about this?” Marcus asked him.
“I loved Anna; losing her was like something cut out a piece of me that will never be replaced.”
She sucked in a breath. What would it feel like to lose Marcus? It would be something similar, she guessed. He was the first person she’d ever loved. Would she ever be able to move on if something happened to him?
They shared a look, and she knew he was thinking the same.
“Anna told me not to spend the rest of my life mourning her. That it would be a waste of my life and hers. I just want to do what I can to make sure you both have a good time while you’re here. To maybe help Isla come out of her shell and help keep Marcus under control.”
“Hey!” Marcus protested. But there was a smile in his voice. “I don’t need anyone to keep me under control.”
“Uh-huh,” Eliot said.
“Sure you don’t,” Isla agreed, and they grinned at each other.
“Oh, I see how it’s going to be. You’re both going to gang up on me, aren’t you?” Marcus pouted, but his eyes were twinkling.
“Why don’t I order us all some dinner and you can take a bath while it comes? Get into your PJs and have a relaxed dinner?”
“La-la did promise to play with me.”
She felt her cheeks grow hot, especially as Eliot raised his eyebrows.
Dear. Lord.
Sometimes she thought she could murder Marcus.
“All right. Is there anything you’re allergic to?”
“Veggies!” Marcus said loudly. “And anything green. I don’t like green food.”
Eliot blinked at him.
“It’s true. He doesn’t like green food. Although he’s not actually allergic to veggies,” she said.
“I am!”
It surprised her that his Little was coming out now. But she rolled with it. Maybe he wanted to see how Eliot would act with him in Little headspace.
Knowing Marcus, that could well be it.
Or his Little could just be close to the surface. It was hard to be sure with him.
“I don’t eat veggies,” Marcus said.
Eliot crossed his arms over his chest. “That so? Veggies are good for you, though.”
“Pfft. Don’t be worrying about that. I’m fine. Healthy as a horse. I’ll have some Dino nuggets, fries, ketchup, and some pie for dessert. I’ll go run the bath.”
“I’ll run the bath in a moment. You shouldn’t be touching the taps on your own. You could burn yourself.” Eliot blinked, shaking his head. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to… I know you haven’t agreed to anything.”
“You can run a bath for us, STB,” Marcus told him.
“Do I want to know what that stands for?” Eliot asked.
“Sexy Teddy Bear.” Marcus smiled. “You’re lucky you don’t remind us of a dog.”
“What?”
“Otherwise, you’d be sexy teddy dog. STD.”
Isla rubbed her hand over her mouth to hide her grin as Eliot gaped at Marcus.
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense, though. Why would he be a teddy dog?” she asked.
“You can get teddy dogs,” Marcus said. “Don’t they call any dog that’s crossed with a Shih Tzu a teddy dog?”
“Hmm, what if they crossed a Rottweiler with a Shih Zhu?” she asked.
“He’d be a rott zhu or a shih rotty.”
They giggled together, and Eliot gave them an exasperated look. But she saw a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
“The two of you are going to be trouble, aren’t you?” Eliot grumbled.
She grinned. For the first time since coming here, she was actually feeling some hope that she might find a way to set free her Little side. To really be at ease. To let someone have a bit of control so she didn’t have to take on everything herself.