Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
The photoshoot was adorable. It had all the autumn flare a family could ask for, and Tyler knew exactly what we wanted. Afterwards, he took his laptop to a local coffee shop where I couldn’t hover, and worked on the edits. That evening, when he showed me the proofs, I was obsessed.
“Look at this one!”
“You look fabulous,” Tyler gushed.
I laughed. “You hook up with one guy and you’re using words like fabulous?”
“Is it too much?”
I patted his hand. “Not at all. Don’t let anyone ever make you second guess yourself, Ty. And if some people think you’re ‘too much,’ then they just aren’t your person or your people.”
He sighed. “Is it just me, or has pregnancy made you wiser?”
“It’s not pregnancy. It’s being with someone who loves and accepts me just the way I am.”
I selected all the proofs and moved them into the cart. “Done. What do I owe you?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t be a jerk.”
“I’m not. A jerk would make you pay.”
“Tyler, if you don’t let us pay for your work I’m not accepting a single portrait. And then I’m going to be sad, because some of those pictures of Elara are amazing and I need them on my desk at work. Do you wanna make a pregnant woman cry?”
He sighed. “You were easier to control when you were broke.”
“I know. No discounts, either. You charge us full price.”
Another formal dinner was scheduled at Remington’s that night and it would be the last of the trip. Sunday would consist of packing and goodbyes, but to be honest, I missed home, so I was okay with how things were wrapping up.
As we bundled up to drive over to Remington’s I could tell Tyler was nervous. He fussed with his hair and obsessively worried if his clothes were wrinkled.
“I should have ironed. I’m never satisfied when I steam my shirts.”
“For the love of God, you look fine, Tyler. Hale! If you don’t feed me soon I’m going to get cranky!”
Hale came down the steps empty handed. “Elara’s staying home.”
“What? Why?”
“She said shit again and she’s never going to learn if there aren’t consequences.”
That made sense. “Is she staying with my mom or yours?”
“Yours.”
“I’m sure she’ll really feel Daddy’s wrath when Grandma Penny’s giving her ice cream and letting her stay up late to watch Frozen for the thousandth time,” I mumbled.
“What?”
“I said I love you.”
“Oh, you’re ready.” I gave him a cheeky smile.
Tyler returned to the foyer in a different shirt. “I went with the brown one.”
“Great. Let’s go.” I handed Hale the keys. “Xander’s probably waiting.”
Hale stilled, so we all stopped and looked at him expectantly. Sometimes getting out of the house was so much more complicated than it needed to be.
“What are we doing?”
Regret flashed in Hale’s eyes as he looked at Tyler. “Xander left.”
Tyler’s expression fell. “What?”
“He had an early meeting tomorrow and a long flight.”
My jaw gaped. “Are you kidding me? He didn’t even say goodbye! Gah! I knew he was an asshole! What a dick!”
“Dick!” Elara’s voice echoed from the stairs as she scooched down step by step after my mom.
“Nice, Rayne.” Hale picked up Elara. “What did we say about repeating bad words?”
She immediately looked repentant. “It’s bad.”
“Good girls don’t say bad words.”
Man, did I get a different speech from him…
“This is why you aren’t coming with us tonight. I don’t want to hear that kind of language from you again, Elara. Understand?”
“Yes, Daddy.” She grabbed his nose, and he handed her off to my mother.
I looked at Tyler. “You okay?”
“Fine.” There had never been a more unconvincing fine.
I gave him a sad smile, wishing there was more I could do. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He walked out the door, which was code for not wanting to talk about it.
When we arrived at Remington’s, Tyler was somber. I could tell he was second-guessing everything, and I wanted to punch Xander in the dick for hurting my friend. How did you have a talk-all-night connection, breakfast in the morning, and then ghost without a goodbye? I was glad we weren’t doing business with him next week because I didn’t want to see him ever again.
I wasn’t even sure if Hale should work with him now. He was obviously undependable.
As predicted, Naomi took a time machine right back into Remington’s bed. It was weird, especially because no one acknowledged the weirdness.
“Are they getting back together? Don’t you think it’s a bad idea? They got a divorce for a reason.”
Hale didn’t want to talk about it. “It’s a holiday weekend, Rayne. They’re grown adults. They probably just wanted something easy to get through Thanksgiving.”
“Your father is the last person I’d call easy.”
“My mom’s not easy, either, Rayne. Let them figure it out.”
Tyler and my mother left for the airport before breakfast the following day, so we headed to Remington’s, where Marta was most likely preparing something to eat. I didn’t know what Naomi was doing, but she lived only in New Jersey, so technically, she could drive home if she missed her flight. I had a feeling Remington was going to ask her to stay.