Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Hannah giggled, nudging me with her elbow. “Stop it,” she repeated. “He’s your friend. Tell him to back off.”
“I am not telling that man anything. She’s your mother.” I shook my head. “How the hell that is possible, I don’t know, but that’s what she says.”
“She had me when she was eighteen. I’m twenty-eight. She is forty-six.”
“Doesn’t look it.”
“I know.”
“Dom is forty-eight. Perfect age for each other.”
“She lives in Toronto and isn’t looking for a man.”
“I wasn’t looking for you either,” I said, without thinking.
Hannah’s hands stilled, and our eyes met. “I mean, I thought I’d get a roomie with balls. You know. A dick. Like mine. Fuck. I mean, a guy. But I got you. You are so much better than balls.”
“Or a dick?” she asked, her lips twitching.
“Definitely better than a dick. You smell way better.”
“Sniff dicks often, do you?”
I began to laugh. She joined in, and without thinking, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. I dropped a kiss to her head and stepped back, grabbing the plate of meat she handed me. I met Charly’s all-seeing gaze and her knowing wink as she came into the room. I tried to ignore it.
“Smooth,” she muttered as I went by. “The whole dick conversation. You sure know how to woo a woman.”
“I try.”
She shook her head. “You should try harder, Chase.”
I looked at the way Hannah was still laughing as she poured a bag of chips into a bowl. I liked making her smile that way. She was fucking beautiful.
“No, I’m good.”
Charly’s smile was soft as she looked between Hannah and me.
“Yeah, you are.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Chase
The Gallagher women were drill sergeants in another life. There was no doubt about it. Lunch was served—trays of crusty sandwiches, dips, veggies. Cheese and crackers. Cut-up fruit. Cupcakes. Then they organized us all into pairs—each getting a different area to paint. I tried not to grin when Dom announced he and Cherry would do the hall. “I’ll do the high parts. Cherry here can look after the bottom. Once we’re finished, we’ll move into the living room since it’s the biggest area, and we can help with that,” he said with a satisfied nod.
I had a feeling he wanted to take on the hall since the chances of brushing up against Cherry were high in the narrow space. I noticed the way he situated himself close to wherever she was. He did it casually, moving to get another sandwich, walking over to pour another coffee or get a soda for someone. He’d end up beside Cherry, talking to her or simply watching her, the look on his face intense. Hannah and I exchanged more than one amused glance, and Charly was practically vibrating in her seat. She loved matchmaking and pushing couples together.
She was enthusiastic with her response. “Good plan, Dom. I bet you’ll make a great team. Gabby and I will start the living room. We’ve painted together before.” She smiled innocently at me. “You and Hannah can tackle your room, okay, Chase?”
“Sure,” I agreed easily, ignoring her subtle little wink.
“We have the brushes, rollers, and paint trays in each area all ready to go,” Cherry said. “And the right paint. Lots of rags plus the stepladders.”
“So organized,” Dom muttered. “I do love me a woman who is organized.”
Cherry snorted. “You have to be. Try being a single mother who has to get her kid ready for school and be at work on time every day. You learn fast.”
The look he sent her was filled with admiration, and yet somehow, it still smoldered. She met his gaze without backing down, then turned and said something to Hannah, who grinned and tried to hide it behind her sandwich.
The front door opened, and Maxx and Stefano walked in, their voices booming. “We’re here!”
Charly frowned. “You are supposed to be watching the kids.”
Maxx grinned, dropping his head and kissing her soundly. “Mary, Nonna, and Papa have all the kids. Not only that, Rosa is making a huge lasagna, and they expect everyone at their place for dinner tonight. You get us for the afternoon.”
I grinned at the shocked look on Cherry’s and Hannah’s faces. I wasn’t surprised. This family always pulled together. When Rosa and Mack got married, they had moved to a place next to Mary’s, and the three of them hung out a lot. Mary was an adopted grandmother to all the kids, who loved spending time with them. Rosa, Stefano’s mom, was Italian, loved to cook, and adored having her family around, which now included all of us.
“How lovely,” Cherry said. “Are you sure?”
Stefano flashed her a grin and introduced himself. Both he and Maxx were as surprised as I was to find out she was Hannah’s mom and not a friend. He was fast to reassure her. “Mama would love to meet all of you. Including you again, Dom. Mack was keeping the kids busy in the garden, and she and Mary were bustling in the kitchen. They’d be disappointed if you didn’t join us.”