Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Since my office door is shut, I don’t have a clear view of my assistant’s desk, so I ask the only question that matters. “Is one of them Abigail Duvall?”
He lets out a sigh. “No, but trust me, you’re going to want to make time for this cute duo.”
“So I take it one of them is Eamon?”
His distinctive laugh is enough to put a smile on my face. “It’s not, but you’re the first to know I’m having dinner with him tonight. He asked me out, sir. Can you believe it?”
“It’s about time you called me Declan,” I finally say. “I can believe it. You’re a great guy, Huck.”
“So are you, Decky.”
I hold in a chuckle and issue him a warning. “That’s the first and last time I’ll ever hear that from you.”
“Understood,” he says with amusement in his tone. “I’m telling your visitor and the sweet bundle of cuteness in his arms that he can enter your office.”
I push back so I can stand. “Tell my brother to bring my niece in here now, and for the record, I hope tonight is the first of many dates for you and Eamon.”
“Will do, and it will be, “ he says with confidence. “He’s my Prince Charming, Declan. I’ve searched high and low for him, and as luck would have it, he was looking for me too.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing in the middle of my office, holding my beautiful niece as she sleeps.
“Are you crying?” Sean asks in a whisper. “Decky, what’s wrong?”
I glance to where he’s taken a seat behind my desk. “I’m happy for you. You get to be her dad.”
“Forever,” he adds. “I get to see her take her first steps and walk her to school on her first day. I’ll teach her to drive and walk her down the aisle when she finds her perfect partner. I get all that.”
“I’m proud of you,” I tell him. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I see it in your eyes. I hear it in your voice. I know you didn’t always feel that way, but I’m damn glad I make you proud now.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, Saint.”
“Even when I was on that billboard in Times Square in nothing but my underwear?”
I laugh, trying to mute it so I don’t wake Hailey. “I envied you.”
He leans forward to rest both elbows on my desk. “You what?”
“You had the balls to put yourself out there.” I tilt my chin up. “Don’t crack a joke about your balls.”
His hands jump to cover his mouth.
“I know your face wasn’t visible in that ad, but it took courage to put yourself out there like that. I felt the same way about how you went after Callie. You knew you loved her, so you wouldn’t stop until she knew it, until she felt it.”
“Calliope is my world.” He gestures to the baby. “Hailey is now too. I felt a connection to Calliope that I can’t explain, but I knew she was it for me. I knew that early on, so I went for it.”
I look at my younger brother’s face. It may have changed since we were kids, but to me, he’s still the same kid who trailed behind me when I went to the basketball courts with my friends and sat waiting for me on the curb when I was late getting home from middle school.
“I love you, Saint,” I say because I don’t do that nearly enough.
He stands and rounds the desk until he’s next to me. Tossing an arm around my shoulder, he pulls me into him. “I know, Decky. I love you too.”
I keep my gaze trained on Hailey’s face. “She looks a little like me, don’t you think?”
A deep laugh flows out of him. “No fucking way. She looks exactly like me.”
“Callie would give you shit for swearing in front of her daughter,” I remind him.
“She’d give you shit, too,” he counters. “Luckily, she didn’t hear either of us because she’s wandering around the offices, checking up on everyone’s life. You know her. When we were giving Hailey the grand tour of Wells, Calliope fell behind because she had to know what everyone has been up to.”
“Because she cares,” I remind him.
“The way you care about Abby?” He pokes a finger into my ribs. “What’s happening there? When are you dropping to one knee and giving me a sister-in-law?”
I rock the baby gently when she starts to stir. “I think she’s avoiding me, Saint.”
“You messed it up, didn’t you?” he asks, exasperation edging his tone. “What the hell did you do?”
I glance at his face. “I fell in love with Abigail, and the kicker is I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to tell her that.”
Sean’s gaze trails from my face to my open office door. “Your chance is standing right there.”