Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Ahhh, fuck. I step on the gas to avoid chunks being blown in my car, and fifteen minutes later, I pull up in my driveway, smirking at the way Gigi stares up at my house in wonder. “What the fuck is this?” she grunts.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I question as I hop out and head around to her side.
I open her door and take her hand to help her down. “Your house. It’s like . . . I don’t know. A grown-up house.”
I burst out laughing, and she cringes at the noise. “Sorry,” I say as I lead her up the stairs with my hand clutching her hip, making sure she doesn’t fall. “What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know, not this. Everything about you has been perfect so far. Statistically, it’s going to go downhill at some point, right? I mean, surely my luck is bound to run out sooner or later.”
I grin at her, watching the way she rolls her eyes, knowing damn well where this is going. “You think I’m perfect, huh?”
“Shut up,” she groans, a beautiful flush spreading over her cheeks.
“I’m far from perfect, Gigi. But I do have my shit together,” I tell her as I pull her into my arms. “Besides, I think I’m the lucky bastard when it comes to you and me.”
She presses her lips together and gently shakes her head.
“Come on,” I say, unlocking my front door. “Let me get you inside before you pass out on my doorstep.”
With a grateful nod, she allows me to pull her into my home, and I watch as she looks around with interest but doesn’t have the energy to comment. Though, I’m sure the second she’s feeling better, she’s going to go on a rampage.
Leading her to my living room, she looks at my massive couch with longing before instantly falling into it and snuggling into the cushions. After making sure she’s alright, I run upstairs to one of the many spare bedrooms and strip the bed of its pillows and blankets before hurrying back down to Gigi.
She greedily accepts them, and I help spread them out on the couch and make her comfortable before grabbing the TV remote and showing her how to use the complex thing. She finds Netflix and puts on a ridiculous show that I wouldn’t watch in a million years, but instead of watching it, she turns the volume down and watches me.
Sitting at her feet, I pull them into my lap and get comfortable, ready to be at her beck and call. “What?” I ask when she doesn’t look away.
“Why are you doing this?”
I squeeze her foot as her eyes bore into mine. “Do I need a reason?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. Apart from my parents and Mel, no one has ever gone out of their way for me before.”
Grabbing hold of her feet, I drag her down the couch before pulling her up into my lap. “I don’t see it as going out of my way,” I tell her, making sure I have her undivided attention. “I see it as taking care of what’s mine.”
Her eyes sparkle, and I watch as a small smile spreads over her face. “Yours, huh?” she murmurs.
I press a kiss to her forehead and pull her into my arms, holding her close as her head falls against my shoulder and she snuggles into me. “Definitely mine.”
Running my hands up and down her back, it doesn’t take long before she falls asleep, and once she’s fully out, I pick her up and lay her back down on the couch, pulling the blankets right up to her chin. She slips her hands under the pillow and lets out a gentle sigh, more than content, and with that, I hit mute on the TV and give her peace to sleep.
Heading into the kitchen, I look up a recipe for chicken soup and study it for a minute before deciding this kitchen shit is too hard for me. Sara always did that, and after three long years, I still haven’t been able to figure it out. I’ll pick some up from the store when I get Georgie from preschool.
Wanting Gigi to have everything she needs, I duck back into the living room and place some more painkillers and water on the table before scrawling out a note to let her know I’m heading out to pick up Georgie and that we’ll be home in thirty minutes.
With that, I head out the door and get on my way, quickly collecting Georgie and finding out she was a cheeky girl again today. I give her another award-winning lecture and duck into the store. Georgie sits up in the cart and grabs things off the shelves, and because the thought of having Gigi in my home brings me the sweetest peace I’ve had in years, I let the little munchkin get away with it.