Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
The interloper’s brown eyes held mine a long moment before their head tilted to the side and their tongue lolled out. Gently panting, they sat and watched me in what I assumed was pure perplexity.
Swallowing hard, I watched Connor approach the back door and pause in his steps when he saw me standing in the middle of the white marble island. He blinked at me. “Babe?”
My nose began to tingle and out came a pitiful sounding, “Help.”
Connor looked down at the Doberman then back up at me. He did this again and when the Doberman looked up at him and wagged its tail, Connor smiled. His smile turned into a grin. And then, God help him, he chuckled.
This, as anyone could have guessed, did not please me. And so, I did the only thing a normal person would do.
I cried. “Don’t laugh at me.”
Connor sucked in his lips, trying in vain not to laugh again. “I’m not laughing.”
Tears blurred my vision. Of what? Fear? Mortification? A little of both? Who knew? “Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not,” he said, straightening his expression but his lips remained remarkably pinched.
Using one hand to hold up my towel and the other to wipe away the single droplet of snot that dared escape my nose, I tried to sound less pathetic.
I did not succeed.
A childlike, “I was scared,” peeped out of my quivering mouth.
And, just like that, Connor’s humor was wiped clean from his face.
“The door was open. You weren’t there. I called out but you didn’t answer.” Blinking away a fresh batch of tears, I rambled, “And the door was open. And you weren’t there. And it was a little scary.” I finished up on a nod and a shrug.
“Aw, baby.” Connor’s long legs took three wide steps over to me and held out his hand. “I’m sorry.”
I took his outstretched hand while holding the towel with the other and snuffled when I hadn’t noticed the person at the door materialize. “Now what in the shit is going on here?”
At the brash statement, my brows rose. Even more so when I noticed it came out of a pristinely dressed forty-something-year-old blonde woman, and she was looking between me, Connor, and the Doberman like we were all deranged.
Connor smiled at the lady and squeezed my hand. “Aunt Kim, this is Emmy.” He looked up at me adoringly, that crooked smile settling sweetly on his lips. “My wife.”
Aunt Kim?
What?
The Aunt Kim?
Uh…
The same Aunt Kim who saved Connor and Ricky from a lifetime of hell? Who raised them, nurtured them, and loved them? That Aunt Kim?
I think so.
Okay. Cool.
You’re crying.
Oh crap.
You’re also naked.
Ah, shitballs.
My cheeks had since turned a nice shade of crimson. Aunt Kim looked me over with a scrutinizing eye before she uttered, “She’s cute, Connor.” Stepping into the house, she patted the four-legged giant on the head and her eyes creased in the corners. “Where’s the rest of her?”
I died. Internally. Outwardly. All over. I just……. I was dead. Possibly the first case of death by embarrassment in the universe but there always had to be a first. And I was it.
Unsure of what to do, I softly nudged Connor’s arm with my foot and with my pleading eyes, he got the hint. As carefully as he could, he helped me down onto the ground without exposing me and when I approached Aunt Kim, making sure to avoid the ginormous doggo sitting by her side, I held out my free hand and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’m not a crazy person.”
A single brow lifted but her mouth pulled down. “Sweetheart, I know you think that’s true but you married Connor so you’ve got to be some kind of crackers.”
Oh my God.
She hated me.
My tummy hurt and just as I opened my mouth to apologize or cry, or vomit, or all three, she tipped her head back and laughed long and hard. “Oh my God, your face. I’m kidding, Emmy.” She continued to chuckle but the smile on her face softened. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My heart resumed beating. I tried to breathe through the apprehension and struggled to smile. “It’s probably all lies.”
Aunt Kim watched me a moment. “I hope not.”
And when she took the step forward and wrapped me in her arms, I fell in love with the woman who had loved my husband and his brother unconditionally.
Although she didn’t say it, I think…
I think she loved me too.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
True Colors.
Emmy
“Oh my God, that’s great,” I managed to exclaim without sounding like I wanted to jump into the ocean and never come back out.
I glanced down at the Doberman whom I now knew was named Roxie and asked Aunt Kim, “F-For how long?”
Aunt Kim gave Roxie a scratch behind the ear. “Not long.”
Thank God.
It was then that I realized that Aunt Kim and I had a very different definition of “not long,” because she said the words, “A month or two.”