Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
I needed to let loose and forget about Davina. Javier said to be her friend, but she hadn’t emailed me back in days. It was clear now. She didn’t want to deal with me, so it was whatever. I’d give her space and stop sweating the situation if that’s what she wanted.
I watched Javier walk down the steps of the private jet, with Aleesa in his arms. I was surprised he’d brought her with us, but his nanny was newly pregnant, and her morning sickness was kicking her ass. He’d have to look for a new one soon, but in the meantime, his mom would be flying in to help out.
I walked across the tarmac to get to the black SUV waiting for us. The sunlight bathed the back of my head and neck, and it felt good after being on that cold jet.
When I climbed into the SUV, my phone vibrated with a text.
Whitney: I saw that article about you and Giselle. Glad you’re done with her. She was mad superficial.
I darkened the screen of my phone again. I wasn’t in the mood to even think about that fucking article and definitely not about Giselle’s snobby ass.
She was the reason it was even floating around. She was telling everyone we weren’t seeing each other anymore because I wasn’t a good person and that I wasn’t romantic. It was a whole bunch of bullshit.
“Deke. Candy?” a little voice said next to me. It sounded more like “Dee. Canny?”
I looked at Aleesa, who was locked into her car seat, with a smile pasted on her face. She had big green eyes and sandy-colored curls. That beautiful three-year-old looked just like her mom. I was sure it pained Javier every day to see the spitting image of his deceased wife in his baby girl.
I cut my eyes to her dad, who was sitting in the passenger seat and giving the driver the designated address; then I dug into the pocket of my jean jacket and took out a pack of jelly beans. I’d brought three packs just for Aleesa.
Our candy affair had started when she was one and I’d had to swindle her with a STARBURST. She literally wouldn’t even look at me when I came around, and for a while there, I could’ve sworn she hated me. I shared that tiny strawberry fruit chew with her, and her entire mood flipped. Suddenly, I was her best friend.
It’d gotten to the point where she started reaching for me whenever I entered a room she was in. Yes, I bribed her with sugar. No, I don’t regret it. She was my little road dog now, and believe it or not, I helped Javier out from time to time by babysitting her if I was free.
Aleesa did a little squeal, and I pressed a finger to my lips. She cupped her mouth with one hand as I opened the packet of jelly beans and dropped some into her tiny palm. She couldn’t help giggling.
While she did, Javier peered over his shoulder.
“Dee canny, Daddy,” she said, already chewing.
Javier turned the soft gaze he had for his daughter to me, transforming it into a full grimace. “Seriously, man?”
I threw my hands in the air. “That’s the last pack, I swear.”
“You know I do not like her to have candy, Deke. She turns into a little gremlin, running throughout the whole house and jumping off of the walls.”
I laughed as Javier faced forward again, then pointed my gaze at Aleesa, who was chewing and smiling at the same time.
“You’re gonna make your dad beat my ass,” I murmured to her.
“Deke!” Javier shouted.
“What, man?”
“I told you about using bad words around her!”
“Oh, shit. Sorry, Valdez.”
“You did it again!” he yelled, and Aleesa giggled louder, getting a real kick out of our exchange.
After dropping our bags off at the rental house Javier booked, we went to a high-end water-view restaurant called Wave 47.
The walls were painted black and accented with white vertical and horizontal zigzags. Green plants were threaded throughout the place, wrapping around the columns and clinging to the walls, and the round pendant lights were dim.
The hostess led us straight to the back, where she slid a curtain aside to reveal a private dining area with windows overlooking an endless ocean.
A woman with sable skin, black bangs, and a white pantsuit was already seated at the table. I assumed she was Kyla, the owner of the baby products company Javier had mentioned.
“Javier Valdez!” Kyla stood and rushed to him, her hand already stuck out for him to shake. “I’m so glad you could make it. This means so much to me to have you here.”
“Well, I am just happy to be here,” Javier said with hardly any enthusiasm.
I kept telling him he needed to work on his people skills. With that tone, he sounded like he’d have rather been anywhere else than at the restaurant. I knew that wasn’t the case, though. For a few weeks now, he’d been talking about this meeting and how good Kyla’s products were for Aleesa’s skin and hair.