Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Well, since it’s nice out, we’ve made a reservation to do a day trip the second weekend of July. We have no clue when we’ll find the time to go once Killian’s football season begins, on top of us having this little girl”—she pats her growing baby bump—“right in the middle of the season.”
“Oh, yes! That will be so much fun,” Olivia says. “I’ll have my parents watch Reed.”
“And you should totally invite Jase.” Giselle waggles her eyebrows.
“Agreed!” Olivia adds.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s time to say goodbye. See you when you get home. Give Reed a kiss from me.”
“Bye!” Giselle waves at the screen.
“Bye!” Olivia smiles. I press the end button and she disappears.
Once I close the screen, Giselle leans in, and with a big grin, says, “Okay, now that Olivia and Nick are gone, I want all the juicy details. He looks like a bad boy with all those tats. Please tell me he fucks like one.” She lifts one brow.
“I’m not kissing and telling,” I say, “but I have two words for you: pierced dick.”
* * *
“What can you tell me about the gentleman you’re interested in locating?” It’s Saturday evening and I’m working from home. Adam texted me a few minutes ago, asking if I’ve contacted the PI yet, which I hadn’t, so I figured I should call him now before I chicken out.
“Unfortunately, the only info I have on him is that he went by the name Snake, his last name is Leblanc, and he met my mom in Piermont when he was having dinner at the diner she worked at,” I tell Duncan, the PI Adam referred me to.
“Okay, well that’s a start. Why don’t you email me all the details you have, including the dates they were together and any description of him you know of. Ask your mom if she can recall any specific tattoos.”
“I’m not telling my mom. I don’t want to get her hopes up. If you’re able to locate him, I will then decide what to do with the information.”
“Gotcha.” He gives me his email and lets me know that once I send him all the info I can think of, he’ll start immediately. I thank him for his help and then we hang up.
As I’m setting my phone on the coffee table, it rings, Jase’s name popping up on the screen. We haven’t spoken since we parted ways the other morning, aside from a good morning and good night text.
“Hello,” I say, answering the phone. I have to admit, I was getting worried that maybe Jase regretted what happened between us. Neither of us are the same people we were all those years ago. While I’m still—if not more—attracted to him, I’m not stupid enough to believe we can just pick up where we left off. We’re in a different city, both running businesses. Jase is a dad! I swore I would never have kids. I don’t know where we stand, and I’m starting to wish I would’ve asked him when he was here the other day, but at the same time, I don’t think I’m ready to put a label on us. It’s all just too new, yet not. Ugh! It’s so confusing.
“How are you?” Jase asks, his voice smooth like the finest silk. I don’t realize it, until I release a harsh breath, that I was holding my breath. The way he speaks doesn’t sound like a man who regrets being with me.
“I’m good,” I say nonchalantly. “You?”
“Aside from missing a certain brown-haired woman like crazy, I’m okay.” And there goes my heart.
“Oh, yeah?” I squeak out like a school girl with a crush. Damn it! How does Jase always manage to turn me into such a girly-girl?
“Yeah,” he says, his voice husky. “My sister is having a sleepover with Sky at her place tonight, so I was thinking you could come by the shop and hang out and then I could show you my place.”
“What about Jax?” He mentioned before that, while Quinn moved out and lives with her boyfriend, Jax still lives with him and Skyla.
“He’s having a sleepover too…with some chick he tattooed earlier…at her place.” He coughs out a laugh. “So, what do you say? ”
“Should I, umm…” I clear my throat, suddenly nervous. “Should I pack a bag?”
“Hell, yes, you should,” he growls, and I let out an annoying giggle.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
Fourteen
Jase
For the last ten years, my life has been about my daughter and our future. I have spent hours upon hours learning how to navigate being a single father to a little girl with a sad past, while also trying to grow a business. When I first got her, she was malnourished and mute. She didn’t talk or smile for almost a year. The day she smiled at me for the first time, I swear I cried for an hour straight. And then when she finally spoke, I fucking lost it. Over the years, my focus has been on building a thriving relationship with Skyla, and later, it shifted to building a thriving business that would provide for Skyla.