Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Me:
You can run, but we’ll find you.
I toss my phone back in my bag when the car stops, and I look over to see the huge charter plane waiting. The stainless-steel stairs are pushed up against the door, which is open. I see four cars in front of us as various people get out of them. The porters are there with luggage carts unloading the trunks of the cars.
I open the door and step out, squinting with the sun hitting me in the eye. I slam the car door shut at the same time as Gabriella does. “You guys are late,” my uncle Matthew declares, coming over to us.
“How are we the ones late when there are four other cars here at the same time?” I ask him as I walk over to him and give him a hug. “Oh, Uncle Matthew, Gabriella wants to know if there will be condoms given out in our room.” I look over at Gabriella, whose eyes go big. “She really wants to be safe.”
Matthew looks at me and then at Gabriella. “I thought after I survived Zara and Zoe, I would be safe from having a heart attack.” He looks at Gabriella. “She’s joking, right?”
“About having safe sex?” Gabriella replies. “Absolutely, it’s so much better playing Russian roulette with my ovaries.”
I can’t help but laugh out loud as Matthew’s vein in his forehead goes bigger. “Get on the plane,” he grits between clenched teeth
We walk away laughing, stopping when we come face-to-face with Dylan. “Why are you late?” I look over at him, and he just laughs.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” he reminds, as Alex looks at Maddox and says something to him. He’s wearing blue shorts with a white shirt, a Stanley Cup baseball hat turned backward, pushing his ‘hockey flow’ hair back, and gold aviator sunglasses cover his eyes. He bends down and kisses her cheek. “I’ll be fine, Mom.” He smirks at her. “I’m going to hang with Christopher and Stefano.”
“Absolutely not,” Dylan declares, putting his hand on his hips, and I see they are dressed alike, just Dylan isn’t wearing a hat.
“The legal drinking age on the island is eighteen, which means…” Maddox smirks at Dylan.
“Which means I’m going to be watching you like a hawk,” Dylan warns him.
“You look like my father”—Alex tries not to laugh at Dylan and the way he stands there—“and Uncle Matthew all wrapped in one.”
“Dad, what’s the worst that can happen?” Maddox asks.
“One year, your father and Uncle Michael got so drunk your father fell asleep in the bathroom,” I start to say, and Dylan just groans out. “I went to the bathroom and thought he was a home invader and kicked him right in the balls.”
“Dad, you didn’t?” Maddox says out loud, gasping.
“I was eighteen, and you should learn from me,” he advises, and Maddox just shakes his head.
I walk toward Maddox. “I’ll take care of him,” I reassure, putting my arm around his waist. He places his hand around my neck, and we turn around and walk toward the stairs. “Would you go easy, please?”
He just laughs. “Always,” he says, jogging up the steps to the plane. I walk up the steps, holding on as the wind now blows my hair across my face. I turn the other way when I get to the top, pushing it away from my face as I step into the plane.
“Hi,” the flight attendant greets me with a smile. “Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you,” I reply, turning and looking into the plane. There are three seats on each side of the plane and even in the middle.
I look around, and my eyes find him right away. The minute I look at him, everything inside me stops as my head screams, “What in the actual fuck?” I try to get my heart beating a normal pace, but when he’s around, it’s very fucking hard for me. The sound of my heart beating erratically now echoes in my ears. I try to look around to make sure no one can see the internal freak-out I am having. I need to sit down before he sees me and talk myself off the ledge.
“Abigail.” I hear Penelope say my name. I blink a couple of times and put on my game face. A face I’ve been perfecting for the past six years. From the first day I met him, there was something special about him. I just didn’t know what it was. I was lucky enough to witness the first time they met. I saw magic happen before my eyes. He was scared shitless, but he also knew what he needed to do. His becoming the best dad I’ve ever seen made me fall more and more in love with him.
Penelope gets up and comes over to me, hugging me around my waist. I smile down at her. “Well, what do we have here?” I ask her as she puts her head back and looks at me.