Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Damn, he wanted her again, and they were standing in a room full of her relatives. His brain was all Daisy all the time.
“The twins have told us many tales,” Devi said, her nose wrinkling. “Like whenever they hear that old band playing, they know their parents are going at it. It’s horrifying.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve got two words for you, niece. Taylor Swift.”
Devi gasped. “No. That’s just because Dad likes her. It’s not…ewww. It ruins so much music for me.”
“Ian, everyone’s used the jukebox room,” Alex pointed out.
“I’m not getting another bodyguard.” Daisy got in the middle of her parents. “Nate did a great job. He made me hide, and then I thought it might help him if I called Aunt Charlotte and told her Uncle Ian was about to get sniped. I knew Uncle Ian would be here because he is always in the middle of drama. I was going to call the cops. Bringing in the authorities would have caused more chaos, but Aunt Charlotte begged me to give her a couple of minutes. And then I went to check and I saw that Da was being an asshole.”
“Daisy, language,” her father admonished.
Daisy shrugged. “Well, you’re already mad at me for having a sex life. I don’t have to pretend to be some perfect princess so you’ll still love me. I can be me. I can be honest. Nate did an excellent job.”
There was one problem with what she was saying. He appreciated the support, but she’d disobeyed. “Which you shouldn’t have seen because you are supposed to be locked in the bathroom waiting for me to give you the all clear.”
“Well, I couldn’t hear anything. I think those rooms are like noise canceling or something,” Daisy complained. “We should get whatever it is at The Hideout. Sometimes the privacy rooms get real loud, if you know what I mean. Also, do you think we could ask the board to get a room with a jukebox? Because it’s the exact right height.”
Ian put a hand to his heart. “Not my jukebox.”
Alex snorted.
“Right height?” Her father had gone pale. “You shouldn’t have been in dat room at all. You were supposed to stay in the apartment, which has two bedrooms.”
“I mean, if you think about it, he can probably protect her better if they stay in the same room,” Brianna offered. “A lot of my mom’s books fall into the only one bed trope.”
“I assure you there are plenty of beds in this place, and this ain’t one of Serena’s romance novels,” Liam shot back.
“I don’t know. Let’s see. Childhood friends take one look at each other after a decade apart and fall madly in love,” Avery began. “Sounds like a romance to me.”
Liam wasn’t finished. “How about this scenario? Asshole can’t handle the military and comes to America to find an easier life and takes one look at an innocent girl and sees a meal ticket.”
Ian groaned and looked to his best friend. “We can’t save him. You want to break into the Scotch? It’s going to be a long day. The twins finally dug Zach out of the rubble and they’re on their way back, so I have to sit in on them complaining all afternoon. Have you ever listened to a whiny captain yell about how a bomb exploded and he got caught for days in the inevitable landslide it caused? It’s a lot, man. And it’s not like Lou didn’t invent an extremely long straw to keep the fucker hydrated. Kids are soft these days.”
Alex slapped Ian’s shoulder. “Yeah, Scotch sounds like a good idea. I’ve never been so happy Coop is mostly transportation.”
“Your boy was the smart one,” Ian agreed.
“Meal ticket?” Daisy asked, her voice going low.
“Oh, shit,” Devi said under her breath. “Dais, you should think about this. You’re kind of half naked in front of your parents, and you have that look in your eyes.”
Brianna shook her head. “There’s no stopping her now. We should go with the uncles.”
“This is going to get bad,” Devi whispered. “Daisy is super sweet until she gets angry and then… Well, it’s bad. But she never does this around her parents.”
Avery sighed. “No, she never does this around her father. I assure you I’ve seen my daughter get really angry. It’s odd. Almost like she got it from somewhere. From like DNA or something. I wonder from who.”
Daisy’s eyes had narrowed. “Nathan, I’m going to need you to hold my coffee. Maybe you should go pour some Bailey’s in it. Or whiskey. I’m feeling like whiskey this morning.” Her accent changed, and she sounded as Irish as her father. “Táim chun labhairt le m'athair.”
Devi held Bri’s hand and started to back away. “She’s gone Irish.”
Nate took her coffee. “Daisy, it’s okay. I told you I don’t care what he thinks about me.”