Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Can I roll it on my wrist?” Kirby asks. “Should I take off the gloves to do that? Is it safe, Carrie?”
“It’s very safe.” She demonstrates by removing her gloves. “Everything in your scent is organic and comes from natural things like plants and fruit.”
Kirby carefully applies the fragrance to her wrist before she brings that to her nose to take a whiff. “This is so nice. I love it.”
“Good.” Carrie skims a hand over Kirby’s shoulder. “I’m glad you love it.”
“Here, Daddy.” Kirby rushes toward me with her arm extended. “Smell it.”
I crouch before she reaches me. Taking her small hand in mine, I bring it to my nose and inhale. The scent is subtle, and refreshing, but there are definitely notes of summer in it.
“Don’t you love it, too, Daddy?” she asks me. “Isn’t Carrie the best?”
Nodding, I glance at the woman who made my daughter the happiest girl on earth. “Carrie is the best. She’s the absolute best.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
Carrie
“Uncle Holden and I are doing a dance together,” Kirby says to me as we stand in the foyer of the Matiz building. “Could you come?”
Unsure of how to answer that, I look to her dad for guidance.
He nods. “Auntie Abby and Uncle Declan will be there, so I’m sure Carrie would love to be in attendance, too.”
Since he mentioned my sister and brother-in-law, the assumption is clear that this dance will happen once Abby is back in Manhattan.
“Sure.” I smile at Kirby. “I’d love to be there.”
“It’s a recital,” she clarifies. “We are tap dancers.”
I don’t know Holden Sheppard all that well, but I’m surprised to learn he’s a tap dancer.
“Daddy will text you all about it.” Kirby reaches up to tap the corner of the phone in Rook’s hand. “Do it now, Daddy, so she knows where to go.”
“Right.” He nods.
Within second my phone’s screen lights up with his incoming text message.
Rook: I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow night if you meet me at The Beaumont.
I steal a glance at his smiling face before I type out a response.
Carrie: Are you holding the recital details hostage?
When I look at him this time, he nods with a wicked gleam in his eyes. His next message sends a pulse of desire coursing through me.
Rook: I am. I’ll tell all if you sit on my face when I arrive.
I suck in a deep breath and respond.
Carrie: What time should I be there?
He studies my face briefly before his fingers trail over his phone’s screen.
Rook: I have to take care of something before we meet up, so let’s say 8?
Looking up, I nod.
“Can we go get ice cream now?” Kirby tugs on the bottom hem of Rook’s suit jacket. “Please, Daddy.”
He glances at the watch on his wrist. “Let’s pick up a pint on our way home. You can have a small bowl for dessert after dinner.”
“Lawyers,” she scoffs as she tosses me a look.
I can’t help but laugh at her larger than life personality. “My sister is a lawyer, so I get it.”
She nods. “We’re kind of the same, Carrie. We love cats, and I’ll be a scientist, too, and we both know lawyers.”
“We are kind of the same,” I agree. “I like that.”
“Me too.” She quickly closes the distance between us to wrap her arms around my waist. “Thank you again for everything.”
Pulling her into an embrace, I smile down at her face. “You’re very welcome.”
I step closer to the finished mural and take in as much as I can. It’s so much more beautiful than I imagined it would be. Posey’s artistic talents are profound.
“You are so gifted,” I tell her. “Posey, you need to show this off to the world.”
She waves her phone in the air. “I am. I posted a few finished pictures of it to my socials.”
“Good.” I nod as I turn to face her. “I’m truly in awe of it. I think my sister will be in tears when she sees it for the first time.”
Her hands leap to the center of her chest. “That’s all I can hope for.”
My gaze drops to the watch on my wrist. “Have you eaten yet? We can order something in for dinner?”
“Or we could go visit my brother in Brooklyn?” Her eyebrows dance. “You’re both single.”
“I’m not,” I blurt out, unsure why I would express vocally what my heart is feeling.
I’m falling in love with Rook, and since I spent time with him and his daughter at the lab earlier, I’ve been lost in thoughts of what it would be like to be part of their everyday lives.
“You’re seeing someone?” Her lips curve up. “Since when?”
“It’s new.” I rub the center of my forehead. “Really new, and I’m not sure where it’s going, but I’m not interested in anyone else right now.”
“Does Telford know?”
The question surprises me enough that I take a step back. “No. Why?”