Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“I blocked incoming calls from her phone over the weekend,” he said, shrugging. “Because I know Caden. He has no one in his life and he somehow feels threatened when Shea isn’t rotting at the inn with him, so he calls her. Christmas morning, who cares? I’ll call Shea to ask if there are blueberries in the kitchen. Her birthday? Not important, I’ll call her about someone saying their steak wasn’t served hot.”
Shea looked defeated. Since she was already stressed about work, the piling on probably wasn’t helping anything.
“So I heard there’s a toast of some sort by city hall tonight,” I said, changing the subject.
“You haven’t done the Svensday toast yet?” Avon asked.
“I spent most of my time with a six-year-old and a nine-year-old,” I said, grinning. “They like to get ice cream and feed the ducks in the evening.”
“Well, you haven’t missed much,” she said.
“Blasphemy!” Grady gave her a mock stern look. “Toasting Sven brings good luck.”
“And considering you’re about to marry him,” Shea said, pointing the neck of her beer bottle at Grady, “I’d say you need all the luck you can get.”
“Guess we can cancel the wedding DJ and have this comedian provide our entertainment instead.”
“Oh, please.” Shea put her palms together in front of her in a prayer position. “I beg you. I’ll come prepared with so many photos and stories about you.”
Grady scoffed. “Nothin’ to tell, I came out kicking ass.”
“I need to grab a drink for the toast. Who needs one?” I asked.
“I’ll take a water,” Shea said.
“Pussy,” Grady coughed into his hand.
“I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I’m still hungover,” Shea said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had that much alcohol in one weekend.”
“Water for me, too,” Avon said.
Shea stared at her brother. “Just waiting for you to try calling her a pussy,” she said.
Grady pressed his lips together, then said, “I’ll get that water for you, my love.”
Drinks in hand, we all walked out of The Hideout, Grady and Avon walking hand in hand and Shea and I trailing behind them.
“Are the kids with your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah, my parents are having a campout in their backyard for them. Roasted hot dogs, s’mores, ghost stories...I think my parents might be more excited about it than the kids.”
She smiled. “That sounds like fun.”
“Sorry about your work stress,” I said.
She shrugged. “It’s just the nature of the job.”
“They’re very lucky to have you. They should be bending over backward to keep you happy.”
“Holt, finally!”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of the voice that called my name. It was like hearing a ghost talking to me.
I stopped walking, shocked to see Andrea walking toward me. Her hair was darker and she wasn’t pregnant anymore. I just stood there, too shocked to form words.
“Hey,” she said softly, smiling as she stopped a couple of feet from me. “It’s so good to see you.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
My ex-wife. In Sven’s Beard. I’d never imagined her and this place coexisting this way, and it was unnerving.
“You won’t take my calls, and I just...we need to talk.”
I looked at Shea, whose expression told me she wanted to be anywhere but here. Of all the shitty luck, Andrea had to show up when I was with Shea.
“Shea, this is my ex-wife,” I said tightly. “Andrea, this is Shea Grady.”
“Nice to meet you,” Andrea said, giving Shea a little wave.
“I’m going to catch up with Grady and Avon,” Shea said. “I’ll see you later.”
I hesitated, wanting to tell her not to go, but she practically ran away. I shook my head, feeling like a fucking idiot for thinking Andrea had already done all the damage she could do to my life.
“You have no right to be here,” I said.
“I wanted to see you,” she said in a pleading tone, reaching for my hand. “And the kids. I miss you guys.”
I stepped back. “You get to see the kids in August. It was arranged by my attorney.”
“Holt.” She tucked the hair behind her ear, trying to look vulnerable. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“No. All communication needs to come through my attorney.”
She flinched, looking hurt. “I had to take three planes to get here. I’ve been traveling all day. And then I had to find you. Please.”
All I wanted was to catch up with Shea, but in the back of my mind, I worried that Andrea would go to my parents’ house and try to take the kids.
“What more could there be to talk about?” I demanded. “We signed the paperwork almost a year ago. Don’t you have a baby to take care of in California?”
“I left her with a friend. Listen, I made a huge mistake. I’ve known it for a while. All I want is a chance”
I cut her off. “No. We’re way past over and you gave up your parental rights to go to California. That’s it. There’s nothing more to say.”