Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Her words echo in my head as I shut the door behind me. The house is just as I remember, very modern and clean, just now with a lot more baby toys around. I see Aviva with Vance on her hip first, and her smile is so welcoming, I almost forget that I could be walking into a clusterfuck.
She comes toward me, and I smile as we hug. “Hey, Evan. How are you?”
“I’m great. How are you?”
“Wonderful. It’s so good to see you!”
My face warms. I’ve always liked Aviva a lot. “Same. You’re gorgeous as always,” I say, handing her the flowers I brought for her. Callie takes Vance as Aviva takes the flowers from me. “For you.”
She gasps before taking in a deep breath of the white roses I picked out. “Oh, they’re stunning! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.”
“Absolutely. Come on. We’ve been cooking all morning. Vance is an early riser,” she jokes as she heads through the living room.
Callie kisses all over Vance, and I follow behind them through the house. I notice more pictures of Callie on the wall, along with Vance, and I still can’t believe I didn’t recognize her the first time I ran into her. All I saw was this beautiful girl who made me feel some kind of way, which I guess is good since I may have kept away if I had known Nico would be involved. Just out of respect. Even though he hasn’t made any effort to extend the same respect to Owen or me.
“This is my baby boy, Vance.”
I grin at the baby who looks a lot like Aviva to me, but I see a fair bit of Nico too. “He’s so cute.”
“He is, aren’t you?” she gushes, tickling his tummy. She’s rewarded with a giggle, and that delights her to no end. Callie’s eyes are so bright and excited as she glances over at me, and I flash her a grin. “He’s just perfect.”
When Vance reaches for me, I take him and cuddle him close. He pats my chest and then my face, babbling. “Hey, big guy. You going to be a goalie like Daddy?”
“That’s the plan,” Aviva says, putting the vase of flowers on the table. Before I can compliment how she’s arranged the flowers, my gaze meets Nico’s. The sour look on his face doesn’t take away my grin, though. How can it when I’m holding a cute-ass kid? Even if it’s his kid.
Though, I can’t ignore the immediate tension.
“Good plan,” I say as Aviva comes to grab Vance. She puts him in the high chair and then sits beside him.
“Well, come on, everyone. Let’s eat all this awesome food we made,” Aviva says, and I can see she’s going to play the ringmaster to this circus of lions.
I look at Callie, and her shoulders are back, with no intention of giving in to Nico. She didn’t even greet him. I pull out her chair, and as she sits, I say, “Hey, Nico. Thanks for having me.”
Nico shrugs. “Yeah.”
This is going to be a blast.
Aviva pats his hand. “As I said, we’re so happy to have you. Callie has talked about you nonstop.”
I sit beside Callie and move my hand into her lap, taking her hand with mine. “I think she might like me a bit, so I’m not surprised.”
She looks over at me, her lips curving just slightly. With a wink, she says, “Just a bit.”
“Small bit,” I say, returning the wink. Her lips curve even more, and I hope I’ve helped her relax some. For me, I’m still as tight as a ball of tape, but I’m really good at masking my feelings. Callie lets go of my hand to take my plate and starts to fill it with food, just as Aviva does for Nico. I look across the table at Nico and clear my throat.
“Did you have morning practice with Owen?”
He meets my gaze, and I know he doesn’t want me here. “No.”
I know Aviva doesn’t think I see her smack him, but I do as she adds, “He goes this afternoon.”
Callie sets down the plate for me, and I squeeze her wrist. “Thank you, my love. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” she says, moving her hand out of mine to cup the back of my neck. She rubs the knot in my neck and then smiles before grabbing her plate. I pat the side of her thigh as I grab my fork and dig in.
“Wow, this is fantastic,” I say with a mouthful. “I didn’t think anyone could make French toast better than my mom. Don’t tell her I said that,” I add quickly, and Aviva grins at me.
“Owen has said the same thing,” she laughs. “It’s Nico’s specialty.”
“He makes it for me when I’m home,” Callie adds. “It’s my favorite.”