Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“I’m not.” Breena shakes her head. “I’m not sorry. Because I have a home with Giles, and our house is beautiful and perfect for us. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m finished grieving this house and what might have been in it. Mostly, I’m pissed off that it decided it could take it over and mess with all of us, using something I used to love against us.”
“She’s so fucking amazing,” Giles breathes, watching his wife with the other girls.
“You’re supposed to think that.” I grin and clap him on the shoulder. “You’re a damn lucky man.”
“Breena is the sweetest person I’ve ever known, although I’d say we’re all particularly lucky,” Jonas says with a smile. “Those three women are unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my long life. And, as your grandmother pointed out, you and Lorelei seem happy. I know I haven’t known you long, but I’ve never seen you so content.”
“I don’t believe in better halves. You know how they say, ‘She’s my better half?’ Yeah, I don’t believe that because we’re whole people by ourselves. But she’s the best part of every day. My life doesn’t work without her in it. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she hung the moon.”
“Maybe she did,” Giles says with a grin, but then the water begins to rise around the house. “And that means we’re out of here.”
“Come.” I take Lorelei’s arm as Jonas and Giles do the same with Lucy and Breena. “We need to go.”
“I’m hungry,” Lucy says, not at all reacting to what’s going on at the house. “Let’s go eat.”
“I promised Breena and Lucy we’d all get ready for the ball together,” Lorelei says the next morning over pancakes. She smears so much butter and syrup over hers, I’m surprised she doesn’t go into sugar shock. “So, I’ll head over there in about an hour, but I have to swing by my house to get my dress and shoes.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I figured you’d say that. I want to check on things anyway. And if I start to go into some kind of weird trance, you have my permission to knock me out cold.”
“That seems a little extreme, but duly noted.”
She grins at me and pops another bite of pancake into her mouth. Aside from the night she had the nightmare, she hasn’t heard the music at all, and the respite from it has been good for her.
She’s been much more herself these past few days.
After her last bite of pancake, she lifts her plate to her mouth and licks the last of the butter and syrup off it, then sets it back down and licks her lips.
“Would you like to simply suck the syrup out of the bottle?”
“Don’t tempt me.” She laughs and then stands to load the dishwasher. “What are you wearing tonight?”
“Clothes.”
She rolls her eyes and shoves her plate into the rack. “Specifically, which clothes are you going to wear?”
“I have a suit. I’ll wear that. Why, what are you wearing?”
“You don’t get to know until later.”
“Then why did I have to tell you what I’m wearing?”
“Because I asked.” She shuts the dishwasher, sets it to wash, and walks over to me to kiss my cheek.
I pull her down onto my lap, making her laugh.
“I love it when we’re like this,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Like what?”
“Normal. Silly. Having fun. Enjoying pancakes.”
“Could you taste the pancakes through all the sugar?”
“See? It’s fun when we’re like this and not worried about…other things.”
“I agree.” I kiss her nose and cuddle her closer. “We’ll have many more moments just like this.”
“I hope so. Shelly and Sandra are so wonderful. I love that they’re here and are moving home. Was that a spur-of-the-moment decision on your grandmother’s part?”
“It sounded like it. Mom looked shocked, but in a good way. I’ll be glad to have them close so I can keep an eye on them, and because I miss them.”
“The aunts will be beside themselves. They were always best friends with your mom, and having her back full time will mean the band’s back together. I think it’s awesome.”
“I know. That’s how I was able to see you so often.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet.” She grins and kisses me, pressing her breasts to my chest. “You know, we have some free time before I have to meet up with the girls.”
“Really?”
She nods with wide, innocent eyes. She’s totally faking that.
“What do you suggest we do with that time?”
She crooks her finger as if she has a secret to tell me, so I bend down, and she cups her hand around my ear. “I think you should fuck me into the mattress until I can’t remember my name.”
I immediately stand with her in my arms and march up the stairs to the bedroom.
“You don’t have to ask me twice, sweetheart.”