Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Allie is here. She has on jeans and a shirt with sleeves that go to her elbows. I suppose Mom sent someone to pick her up some clothes. I’m so damn glad she’s not in that silky gown I felt her wearing last night.
Wrong frame of mind, Wren. Don’t think of that.
“Wren!” Angel says, smiling up from her plate.
Carrie is beside her, but she doesn’t look up as she continues devouring her eggs.
Allie’s eyes snap toward me, but she quickly looks away as blush rises to her cheeks. Or maybe she’s turning red with fury. What a mess.
“Hey, princess,” I say to Angel, forcing my feet to move.
“Mommy is letting me stay a while so that I can hang out with Carrie. We’re going to watch movies in our pajamas, then I’m coming home.”
Carrie finally beams up from her plate, flashing a toothy smile that matches Angel’s.
“And I get to go to Asben!”
“Aspen,” Allie corrects, smiling over at our daughter.
Angel nods, then looks back at me. I’m a little caught off guard.
“Oh?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
Allie doesn’t bother glancing in my direction, but Mom fills me in.
“Allie has to work the first week Angel is out of school for Christmas break. She’s letting us take Angel with us. Then I’ve talked her into joining us the second week. Bella, too.”
My heart stumbles. A week in Aspen with Allie? After the colossal cluster fuck I’ve created?
“That’s great,” I rasp. Then I clear my throat. “I hadn’t planned on her going, so I scheduled a few meetings I have to go to. I’ll be a few days late getting there,” I finally manage to say.
Allie continues staring at her cup of coffee like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. Is she staying here with Angel and Carrie? Or is she riding back with me?
We’d be alone. I can already hear the deafening silence.
My phone chirps, and I gratefully use it for my distraction. Glancing down, I see Rye’s number, and I answer it.
“What’s up—”
“I need you to come get me!” Rye barks, interrupting me. The hell?
“Okay… Where are—”
“In front of the Sterling pier. You won’t be able to miss me. Get the hell here now! Ethan isn’t answering. And don’t bring your daughter. But do bring me some fucking pants.”
“Rye, what the hell—”
“Now, Wren! And hurry.”
He hangs up on me, and I stare at my phone for a beat, still confused.
“I have to go. Rye needs help. Allie?” I prompt, looking over at her.
Her entire body tenses, but Tria answers before Allie can.
“She’s riding back with me. Kode left with Ethan to take him to the airport. He has to be back in Chicago, so Kode drove him in his car. I’m taking Ethan’s car back. I thought Allie and I could hang out for a while and get to know each other.”
I hadn’t even noticed Kode missing.
Allie still doesn’t bother looking up, so I don’t push the matter. Mom gives me a curious look coupled with a disapproving frown. Somehow she knows I’ve fucked up.
Angel gets up and runs around the table, diving straight in to my arms when I bend and reach for her. She giggles when I pick her up, and I kiss her on the head when she hugs my neck.
“I’ll see you soon.”
Allie doesn’t offer me another glance as I put Angel down and turn to leave.
***
WREN
I pull up to the curb next to the pier, and I swear my eyes try to fall out of their sockets. I’m torn between laughing so hard it hurts and allowing my face to distort in fascinated horror.
An amused policeman stands next to a bench, barely able to keep from laughing. Rye looks like he could kill ten people with just his murderous look.
He stands from the bench, says something to the cop, and then he walks toward me. I’m still reeling from the sight in front of me as everyone walking by bursts out in laughter when they check him out.
Rye is blue from head to toe—I’ll never look at Hefty Smurf the same. At least Hefty wore red pants. This fucker is naked. The only thing he has to shield his crotch is a cowboy hat, and he’s holding it there very firmly.
For some reason, pink fuzzy handcuffs are dangling from both wrists. I’m not sure what’s up with that. It looks like the chain that once connected them has been broken. He jerks my passenger door open, climbs in, and ignores the whistles and catcalls that emerge from all around.
“About fucking time you got here. Where’re the pants I told you to bring?” he growls.
I grimace, but then I can’t help it; my laughter pours out before I can stop it. He glares at me like he wants me dead.
“Sorry,” I say, not meaning it one bit. This has to be the funniest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. “I forgot the pants.”