Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I’m putting everything away when the doorbell rings. “That’s Uncle Christopher!” I shout from my bathroom as I hear the kids run to the door.
“Pizza!” both girls scream. I look into the mirror, making sure I look okay before heading downstairs, telling myself I’m just fixing myself for when we leave the house. I walk down the stairs toward the kitchen and find Christopher in the middle of it, grabbing some plates. It’s funny how it’s so natural to see him here doing this, yet confusing at the same time.
“Hey.” He looks over, giving me a little smirk, and I quickly smile at him and head toward the fridge, looking away from him before he sees my cheeks get pink from his stupid smirk. It started happening last week at hockey practice. He looked over at me and smirked after he said something about one of the kids, and my stomach got tight. I thought it was because I was hungry, but after sitting down that night and thinking about it, it had nothing to do with me eating and everything to do with his blue eyes.
He does the kids’ plates, where he cuts up the pieces of pizza before he sits down at the end of the island. He talks to the kids about their day, and when they are finished, he sends me up with them to get them dressed while he cleans the kitchen.
We walk out of the house after I put on my black vest and the girls grab their Halloween bags. “Okay, so when we get home,” Christopher declares, “I get first dibs of the candy.”
I laugh when the girls don’t agree to it. “You should bring your own bag, then,” Luna informs him as she lets go of my hand to walk up to the house next door.
“You okay?” Christopher asks from beside me, his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah, why?” I look over at him.
“It’s just the first holiday.” The way his voice goes soft makes my chest get tight.
“News flash.” I take a deep breath. “Benji wasn’t here the last two Halloweens,” I tell him, and before he can ask me anything, the girls run back so we can walk to the next house.
“How is that possible?” he asks when the girls leave again.
I shrug. “It just is.” I can see his jaw clenching as he bites down. I avoid looking at him the rest of the night, and by the time we walk back to the house, he has Luna on his shoulders because her legs are tired.
He kisses the kids goodbye. “I’m leaving tomorrow for a week, so you won’t see me at hockey,” he says and both the girls groan a bit. “I’ll try to FaceTime Mommy so I can see.” He smiles over their head at me. “If she answers.”
“When haven’t I answered?” I joke with him as he gets up from hugging them. I shake my head as he walks out of the house.
The second day he’s gone, he calls me earlier than normal. “Hey.” I pick up while I’m sitting at my computer looking at a new client list.
“Are you coming to the fundraiser next weekend?” he asks, and I hear the sound of a door slamming on his end.
“I have no idea,” I tell him. “I got the invite, but I’m not sure.” It’s the annual fundraiser the team does, usually to support the children’s hospital. I’ve gone every year, obviously, because Benji had to go. The last time we went was the first time I knew he was taking drugs. I also knew I would never put myself in that position again.
“Why not?” He sounds out of breath.
“I don’t know, because I might not want to.” I lean back in my chair. “Why?”
“I was just asking. I didn’t know if you would be coming or not.” He takes a drink of whatever he is drinking. “It’s for the kids.”
“I’ll think about it,” I give in. “I was going to have a Sandra Bullock marathon.” I try not to let him know that I’m laughing.
“Good God, start with The Lake House, it’ll end quickly.”
“Goodbye,” I say, hanging up with the sound of him laughing.
It takes me a whole week to decide to go. Even on the day of the event, I think about backing out. I haven’t even really told Christopher I’m going, in case I get cold feet before I go. He hasn’t asked me since that phone call, and I haven’t brought it up. The babysitter arrives on time, so I go up and get ready.
I tie my hair at the back of my neck in a long ponytail before applying just a touch of makeup. I quickly get into the dress I ordered literally two days ago and had it rushed over to me. Luckily, I knew the designer, and she could do it. I went with an off-the-shoulder, silk mermaid gown with one little cap sleeve on the right side. It has ruching on the left side of the top area. It goes to the floor but shows the side split when you walk. Turning, I look at myself in the mirror before I grab my nude heels with a peep toe.