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)
“Sure.” I look at his face. “I always feel like I should thank you for…”
“For what?” He skims a finger over the curve of my jaw. “I should be the one thanking you for the best sex I’ve ever had.”
I don’t know if those words are based in truth, but I’m not about to question him.
I want them to ring in my ears and stay in my memory forever, so before he can say another thing, I hurry past him to grab my bag. “We better get going.”
He pockets his phone. “You have the keycard, right? I want you to use it the next time we meet up because, damn, that was a hell of a nice sight to see when I walked in.”
A blush doesn’t color my cheeks this time. Instead, I straighten my shoulders and smile. “I have it, and if you play your cards right, I may be completely nude the next time you walk in here.”
“Swear to that under oath.”
I close the short distance between us with just a few steps. Looking into his blue eyes, I sigh. “Trust me, Rook.”
“I do,” he whispers. “With my…”
Before he can finish that, his phone is sounding off again with a series of chimes.
“Jesus,” he whispers. “I should toss this thing in the East River.”
Laughing, I set off toward the door. “Your client awaits, and I have a cute kitten that needs my attention, so let’s go.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Rook
Kirby glances back at me with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen. I know she views this experience as a gift just for her, but it’s as much, if not more for me.
The memories of this afternoon will live with me forever.
Seeing my daughter holding tightly to the hand of the woman I’m falling in love with is overwhelming me in a way I’ve never felt before.
“Can I touch that?” Kirby points to a test tube filled with bright green liquid.
She may be wearing small white linen gloves supplied by Carrie’s boss, but she’s still hesitant.
Carrie called me this morning to reassure me that she was setting up what she called a ‘practice lab’ for Kirby. Every brightly hued concoction within my daughter’s reach is simply colored water.
Kirby squealed when Carrie led her into the lab with me in tow.
That’s when she presented her with a small lab coat and the gloves. Carrie made sure to tell Kirby that the coat and gloves were gifts from her boss. Telford chimed in that the lanyard around Kirby’s name and the one I’m sporting are security requirements, and for the time that Kirby is in the building, she’s a chemist in training.
“You can touch it,” Carrie says, demonstrating by carefully lifting the test tube from a holder before offering it to Kirby.
Kirby takes it gently, bringing it closer to her face.
She’s wearing the red plastic glasses frames. That brought a smile to the faces of the company’s CEO, Nolan Black, and the COO, Crew Benton. We met both men in the building’s lobby when we arrived fifteen minutes ago.
“I think I would be a good chemist,” she says assuredly, offering the test tube back to Carrie. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re a natural.” Carrie reaches for a small vial on a shelf out of Kirby’s reach. “Telford and I worked on this earlier today just for you.”
Kirby glances at me. I instantly recognize the expression on her face. She’s close to tears. I take a few steps closer so she knows I’m right beside her.
“What is it?” she asks, her tiny voice trembling.
“It’s called Kirby,” Carrie smiles, a light laugh escaping her. “It’s a scent that we made just for you.”
Her hands take it from Carrie. Cradling it in the air, she studies a small label on the side of it. From where I’m standing, all I can make out are block letters spelling out her first name.
She carefully unscrews the cap before she dips her nose close to the roller ball.
“This smells like sunshine,” she whispers. “It smells like lemons, grass, and blueberries when we buy them in the summer.”
Jesus. What an incredible gift.
I can’t look at Carrie because I know my eyes will betray me. If I held any doubt that I was falling in love with her, it’s been stripped away.
“Carrie is giving me too much credit,” Telford says from where he’s been sitting on a chair next to a desk a few feet from where Carrie and Kirby are. “She created the scent. I just made the label.”
“Thank you both,” Kirby’s voice cracks.
I glance up to see her smiling up at Carrie. The adoration in her eyes is apparent, and the tenderness in Carrie’s expression as she stares down at my daughter is unmistakable.
I don’t want two more nights with her. I want every night for the rest of my life.