Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Tell me about it,” I say, more smug than I’ve ever been in my life. “He needs a secretary who can keep him on time. I swear, he’ll be late to his own funeral.”
“I heard that,” comes my brother’s booming tone from deeper in the house—the back door precisely.
He comes waltzing through the house before appearing in the kitchen to face down my mother. She stands with her hands on her hips, glaring at Austin. “If I find out that you were trying to sneak through the back door so that I didn’t notice you were late to my birthday lunch, Austin Ryder, your lunch will be served with a smackdown.”
I can’t keep the snicker from bursting from my mouth, having to smother my hand across my face as Austin shoots a glare at me. God, it’s nice when my mother’s wrath isn’t aimed at me. “I would never do that to you, Mom,” Austin says, walking straight into her and pulling her into a hug. “Did I mention you look beautiful? What’s this birthday? Forty-three?”
Mom chuckles and can’t resist finally pulling her son into her arms. “Oh Austin,” she coos, turning to Jell-O at Austin’s exaggerated flattery. “You know I’m fifty today.”
Dad’s scoff is heard from all the way outside. “And the rest!”
Mom rolls her eyes and lets out a loud huff before focusing her attention on Austin. “Will we be seeing Izaac today?”
“He hasn’t missed a single one of your birthdays in the last twenty years. He’s not about to miss this one.”
Mom smiles before her gaze lifts to the clock again. “Oh, well he must be running a little—”
I shake my head, trying not to be obvious about the way my body reacts to just the mention of his name. “Izaac’s not your son, Mom. You can’t get angry at him for not showing up two hours early for lunch. You know, when you say lunch is at twelve, the general population believes that lunch is actually at twelve.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “Just because I’m not technically his mother doesn’t mean I don’t consider him my son. Izaac’s been around long enough to know the rules.”
Oh, geez.
Austin scoffs. “In that case, you need to hold him to the same punishments I get. He better be served a smackdown with his lunch too.”
“Oh, he will,” Mom declares. “Now go and help your father with the grill. You know how he likes to burn things.”
Austin scrambles, leaving me with Mom, and the second she turns to me with her eyes sparkling, I immediately dread whatever’s about to fly out of her mouth. “So,” she says, her tone suggesting I should run for the hills. “What’s going on with you, honey? Any men on the scene that I need to know about?”
“Mom,” I groan. “You know damn well I haven’t had time to go out and find myself some guy.”
Mom scoffs. “Oh, of course, with all that sitting on the couch and binge-watching TV shows you’ve been doing.”
“What? I have not. I’ve been busy. Graduation is in a few months.”
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten that you’re a cheapskate and have been piggybacking off my Netflix account? I know exactly how much spare time you have, Aspen. Which begs the question, why the hell can’t you find a spare minute to drop in every now and then? You know, your poor momma is getting old.”
“You’re not old,” I scold, knowing damn well age is nothing but a number to her. “Austin wasn’t kidding. You look like you’re in your forties, plus you do yoga four times a week. You’re fitter than I am.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” she warns.
“Bullshit! Flattery got Austin off the hook.”
“The hell it did. That boy’s got another thing coming if he thinks he’s off the hook, but if he thinks complimenting his mother is the way to go, then who am I to discourage him?”
I roll my eyes, a smirk playing on my lips. “You’ve always been able to see right through our bullshit.”
“Damn right, I have,” she tells me. “Which is exactly how I know that you snuck through the back door too. You really think I’d buy that crap about Nancy from next door liking my rose bushes? That woman can’t stand my rose bushes. She’s been jealous of them for ten years.”
Ahhhh shit.
“Speaking of being able to see right through your bullshit,” she continues. “Don’t tell me the reason you’re not putting yourself out there is because of this ridiculous crush on Izaac.”
I blanch, my gaze quickly shooting around the room in a panic. This insane crush has been the worst-kept secret for as long as I can remember. My family has teased me relentlessly for it over the years, but since I turned eighteen, it’s become a taboo topic, especially with Austin.
My brother hates it.