Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“No,” Sloane and I answered in unison.
She shot me a grin before she turned to Callie. “You won fair and square. Lewis needs to learn to lose.”
“He loses easily enough to boys. It’s because I’m a girl.” Callie looked at me. “Would it annoy you if a girl beat you?”
“No.”
Her eyes brightened. “So I did the right thing?”
“Aye. Especially in tae kwon do. Never let anyone beat you when it comes to self-defense.”
She nodded, her agitation seeming to diminish somewhat.
Sloane frowned. “Why didn’t you come home if Lewis was acting up?”
Callie shrugged. “It was your day off.”
“From work, not you. I don’t need a day off from you, kid. Believe it or not, I kinda like having you around.”
Callie smirked. “I know.” Then she glanced at me. “Anyway, you were hanging out with Walker.”
I dared to look at Sloane and found her staring determinedly at her plate. Her cheeks were a wee bit pink, and I knew she was replaying exactly how we hung out today.
“Still, you don’t have to stay somewhere you don’t want to be. Call me next time.”
“It was cool,” Callie promised. “Eilidh and I ended up playing board games with Regan and Mr. Adair.” She wrinkled her nose. “They’re kind of lovey-dovey, though.”
“Lovey-dovey?” Sloane grinned. “Where did you hear that phrase?”
“Eilidh.”
“Of course.”
“Is it normal for grown-ups to kiss as much as they do?” For some reason, Callie asked me instead of her mum.
I swallowed a bite of food. “If they love each other, aye.”
“I can’t see you doing that, Walker. You’re too cool for that.”
“I appreciate it,” I replied, trying not to laugh.
Sloane, however, smirked at me with a knowing look in her eyes. Probably because I’d spent the afternoon kissing every fucking inch of her perfect body.
“Mom would do it.” Callie wrinkled her nose at Sloane.
Sloane looked affronted. “So, I’m not cool?”
“You’re kind of lovey-dovey with me, Mom, admit it.”
I coughed, covering my chuckle.
“So, I’m not cool?” Sloane repeated indignantly.
“You’re a mom.” Callie shrugged.
“Your mum is cool for a mum,” I opined.
“She is?”
“Very.”
Considering this, Callie finally nodded. “Okay.”
“Oh, so if Walker thinks I’m cool, I’m cool?”
“Pretty much.”
Sloane gaped at her daughter. “Lewis has you all sassy today, huh?”
She grinned around a mouthful of pasta, and Sloane rolled her eyes.
As they continued to tease each other, I watched mother and daughter interact, trying to imagine Sloane as a scared seventeen-year-old with a baby girl. I’d been in scary situations throughout my life, but none as scary as that. To be responsible for a child when you were still a child yourself. It was amazing she’d not only done it, but she had a good relationship with her daughter. Anyone could see how much Sloane loved the kid, and despite Callie’s teasing, anyone could see the kid thought the sun rose and fell with her mum.
We ate dessert (a piece of bloody delicious birthday cake from an order that got canceled) as we watched some bullshit UK talent show on TV. Sloane and Callie talked through it so much, I asked why we were watching it. They looked at me as if I were nuts, so I shut up.
At eleven, Sloane switched off the television. “Okay, time for bed.”
Curiosity crossed Callie’s expression as she looked between us. “Is Walker staying?”
“I’m heading out soon,” I promised. Though I’d already told Sloane I’d be out in the car Lachlan had someone leave for me after mine was recovered. I’d stay in it, watching over them. I didn’t trust anyone else to take night shift tonight.
“Oh. Okay. It was nice to see you, Walker.” She yawned my name.
“You too, wee yin,” I replied honestly.
Sloane took Callie upstairs, even though she was old enough to go to bed unescorted, and I stood, waiting for her to reappear. When she did, Sloane had a blanket and pillow in hand.
“Sleep on the couch,” she ordered, handing them to me. “It’s better if you’re in here with us than out there. Right?”
At my hesitation, Sloane rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything, Walker.”
I could guard them better from inside the house. “All right.”
“Do you think it’s Nathan, not Hoffman?” she asked me abruptly.
“I don’t know.” I looked her straight in the eyes. “We can’t find Andros, Sloane. Lachlan is keeping Hoffman busy right now. That makes me think it’s likely your ex behind this.”
“So he knows you’re watching over me?”
“Obviously. I’ll be keeping more of an eye out for familiar vehicles. Anyone tailing us back and forth from work.”
“Two weeks.” She ran a hand through her hair. It had dried naturally after her shower and was a thick mass of waves that made me think of sex. “It’s only been two weeks of this, and I’m already losing my mind. I want my car back. I want Callie and I to do as we please.”