Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Bowie narrowed his eyes at her, causing Aodhan to snort.
Baseball was pretty damn boring. I had to agree with her there.
“Did you know that Uncle Wake played rugby?” Bowie asked curiously. “Is that why you like it so much? I hear it’s the short shorts. I don’t personally see the appeal of short shorts. I’m always afraid my junk is going to fall out of my underwear. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for that to happen because you were wearing short shorts? But I do agree with you, rugby is exciting. But baseball is America’s game. That makes you un-American if you don’t like baseball. Are you un-American?”
She turned her head so that she could look at me. “I didn’t know that you played rugby. That’s literally my favorite thing in the world to watch.” She narrowed her eyes and studied me for a long time. “What nationality are you? I noticed the dark hair and the dark eyes. You’re tall. And you have the olive skin tone. Are you Maori?”
My lips twitched. “My father was, yes.”
“Have you ever done the Haka before?”
My brows raised. I loved how animated she was right then.
“A time or two,” I answered.
“He’s being very cagey,” Aodhan answered. “Wake’s one of the biggest rugby stars our country has ever produced. Even if he did cut his career short before he went on to play professionally. Their granddad taught them how to play from a very young age. That’s why they’re so rich. Their grandfather was a famous rugby player in New Zealand. Though, he’s also a real estate mogul, just like his grandfather was. I’m not sure which one made him richer.”
I watched her eyes narrow. “You played rugby?”
The entire table went silent.
“I played rugby in high school for a private school. Then college. And got a pretty lucrative deal for a year overseas. However, it wasn’t something that I intended to do for the entirety of my life, so I quit. It just wasn’t as fun when it wasn’t for ‘fun.’ If that makes any sense.”
“What, have you been living under a rock?” Etienne drawled. “Geez, Cher. Look at the house he owns. There’s about ten more of them he runs with pocket change. Not to mention, he practically owns half of Accident. If not more than half. That farm you bought used to be his, too. Didn’t you notice how easy it came up for sale?”
That’s when her eyes narrowed down to teeny, tiny slits.
“I see,” Dutch drawled. “Well, fool me once.”
“I didn’t fool you at all,” I said carefully, unable to read her mood. “I just wanted to make things easier for you.”
What I didn’t say was that I wanted to make sure that she could do what she needed to safely. And with as little fanfare as possible. I wanted to make it easier for her to kill a man. So, sue me.
“Don’t feel bad,” Bowie chimed in again. “Uncle Wake is a very private person. The people at this table are the only ones who know anything about him. You’ll get there. I mean, he married you. That has to mean something.”
“Does it now?” Dutch flagged down the waitress. “Can you get me a margarita? Extra shot of tequila?”
The waitress gave her a thumbs up and walked away, heading straight to the bartender.
When she came back moments later with the margarita and handed it to Dutch, she had a quarter of it gone before she even set it down on the table completely.
Nobody spoke as they realized that something had been said to piss the bride off.
My daughter was looking at me funny because she’d missed half the conversation, being so obsessed with her new ‘beau’ that she’d been too preoccupied to listen in.
Once she’d gotten a good swallow, she reached for the tortillas, rolled one up into a roll, then dipped the entire thing in queso before shoving half of it in her mouth.
We all watched, trying not to look obvious.
I leaned back in my chair and said, “What’s going on with your practice? What’s the timeline looking like on that? Etienne has a lot off the bay that you could probably use.”
Dutch raised her brows at me, then turned to Etienne. “What do you do?”
Cassius, realizing I needed a rescue, flashed a grin at me before answering. “Etienne owns a construction business. However, I’m cooler. I’m a harbor pilot.”
“I’ve heard about those,” she said. “They’re boat drivers that board other people’s ships and guide them through dangerous or crowded areas, right?”
He nodded. “That’s right. Pretty much, some areas are so violent and dangerous that it’s best for a very experienced person to navigate so they don’t crash. Our channel is one of the most dangerous in the world. You’ll find our channel all over YouTube.”
“Is that something that people need?” she asked, picking up her glass and taking another healthy swallow of her drink.