Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“Oh, um.” She didn’t want his friends thinking she was weird.
Not his friends. His boss. His criminal boss.
Not that she held that against him or anything.
“You know I told you that Dahlia is a Little,” he said brusquely. “And you’ll feel better with Squish. Bring him.”
She sighed, but grabbed her toy. Gray kept a tight hold on her hand as he led her up the stairs toward the front door.
“What about our stuff?” she asked.
“I’ll get it later.”
“But maybe I should get it now.”
He gave her an incredulous look, like he couldn’t believe she’d just suggested that.
She knew she was acting like an idiot. She straightened her shoulders with a sigh. She could do this. If they didn’t like her, well, it was their loss, right? Because she was lovely.
That’s what she kept telling herself anyway.
Now she felt sorry for Gray, meeting her family the way he had.
The door flung open and a tiny woman with short, dark hair came barreling out.
“Grampy!”
Maeve stilled and stared at her.
Grampy? She was the one who’d nicknamed Gray Grampy?
Hmm. Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so worried.
“Baby girl, what are you doing, running outside like that?” A deep voice grumbled at her. “We’ll have a chat about that later.”
A handsome man stepped up beside the small woman. He wrapped an arm protectively around her middle and the woman half-disappeared behind him, which puzzled Maeve. She hadn’t acted like she was intimidated by Gray when she’d first spotted him. So why was she acting shy now . . .
Unless it was because of her? She was concerned about Maeve?
That was just silly.
The other man studied her with icy blue eyes and she gulped heavily. What was he thinking? Did he think she wasn’t good enough for Gray? Then her gaze moved lower to what he was wearing and she grinned.
“Oh my God! I love your sweater!”
Both of them stared at her.
“It’s so awesome. Where did you get it?”
Gray cleared his throat and she glanced up to find his lips twitching. “Yeah, Markovich, where did you get such a good-looking sweater?”
“I knitted it.” The dark-haired woman stood taller. “Hi, I’m Dahlia.” She gave Maeve a small smile.
Maeve returned her greeting with a giant wave. Then she moved quickly up the steps until she was in front of them.
She heard Gray sigh behind her, but she ignored him.
“You didn’t!” Maeve said.
“I did.”
“But it’s so good.”
The rest of the tension in Dahlia eased. “I know. I’m really good at knitting.”
“You so are. I really like the colors you chose too. Brings out the colors in his eyes.”
“That’s exactly what I said.” This time her smile was more natural.
“His eyes are blue,” Gray muttered. “And the sweater is pink. How does that bring out the color of his eyes?”
The sweater was more like a pale red. And in black, the words, “The Boss,” were written along the front. The letters were all crooked and one arm appeared to be longer than the other, while the neck was a real mess. Ragged and frayed.
It was gorgeous.
Maeve shook her head, sighing. “It’s sad the way he can’t see it, isn’t it?”
“So sad,” Dahlia agreed.
They smiled at each other.
“I like your toy dog,” Dahlia told her.
“Oh, his name is Squish.”
“He’s so cute.”
“Why don’t you both come inside?” Markovich said. “Before someone sees me.”
Dahlia glanced up at him. “You don’t like the sweater?”
Markovich’s eyes widened in alarm. “Of course I do. I just . . . think it’s a sweater that I want to keep to myself. Or everyone will want one.”
“They so will,” Maeve said as they followed Markovich and Dahlia into the house. She glanced around at the beautiful staircase and high ceilings.
“Do you think so?” Dahlia asked shyly.
“Uh-huh. Anyone would be lucky to have a one-of-a-kind sweater like that.”
“Good,” Dahlia replied. “Because I made one for Grampy too.”
They were now in a living room and Gray had shut the door behind them.
“You what?” Gray asked.
“Grampy is such a good nickname for him,” Maeve said. “A mix of grumpy and his name, right?”
Dahlia smiled. “Right. He loves it.”
“Of course he does. It’s perfect.” She sent Gray a big smile as he growled quietly. “I call him Grumpy Bear.”
“Ooh, that’s good too.”
Markovich just sat, watching them all with interest. She could easily tell he was a dangerous man. But every time he looked at Dahlia, he seemed to soften.
It was so cute.
Immy would just swoon at the romance.
Dahlia held up another sweater. “I made this one for me. But Dimitri said I can only wear it in private.”
The sweater was a pale blue. Across the front was written, “The Boss’s Boss.”
Maeve giggled. “It’s awesome.”
“Right? I’m just so good at knitting. Here is yours, Grampy.” Dahlia held up a yellow sweater with a brown blob on the front that almost looked like a . . .