Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I was, but Miami isn’t what it used to be, so I decided to cut my visit short.” He pats Maxim’s shoulder once we are close, then his eyes wander over me. “Then again, if there had been women who looked like you there, I might have been more inclined to stay.” He winks.
“Jesus, Frank.” Maxim sighs, and I barely keep from laughing.
“I’m just fucking with you.” He pats Maxim’s shoulder again, then looks at me once more. “Unless you’re interested.”
“I’m not, but thank you.” I laugh.
“You can’t fault a man for trying.” He shrugs, then turns toward the door, saying over his shoulder, “Come on inside. There is a huge spread of food, and I was told not to touch anything until you two arrived.”
“Frank, I swear you want Myla to shoot you again,” a deep voice says, and I look around Frank at the man standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his wide chest. With one look, I know instantly he’s Maxim’s dad. They both have the same build, sharp, attractive features, and dark hair, only his dad’s Hawaiian heritage is much more pronounced than his son’s.
“Myla loves me,” Frank says, then his gaze comes to me. “Don’t worry, beautiful. She shot me on accident; she wasn’t trying to kill me.”
“Oh my God, why are you telling her that I shot you at all?” a woman shouts from inside the house before she rushes out onto the front porch dressed in an outfit similar to mine, with her blonde hair pushed back away from her very pretty face with a cool green-and-gold headband with lots of pearls sewn into the material.
“It came up in conversation,” Frank defends, and she shakes her head at him while her cheeks get red with embarrassment or frustration, maybe both.
“Something like that doesn’t just come up in conversation, Frank,” she snaps.
“Maybe not normally, but it did right now,” Frank tells her, and she tosses her arms out at her sides as I press my lips together, trying really hard to hold it together.
“Can you please pretend to be sane, at least until Maxim has had a chance to introduce us to his girlfriend?” she cries, and Maxim’s dad wraps his hand around her hip and pulls her back into his front before leaning down to whisper something in her ear. Watching her eyes close as she nods, I feel my chest warm, because that is something my dad would do with my mom.
“Can I eat?” Frank asks, and her eyes fly open so she can glare at him. “Right.” He holds up a hand. “I’ll just wait for everyone in the kitchen then,” he grumbles before heading into the house.
“Well now that that’s done—” Maxim tightens his hold on my hand. “—Mom, Dad, I’d like you both to meet April. Baby, these are my parents, Myla and Kai.” His mom and dad both focus on me, and my stomach seems to bottom out, which is stupid, since I have been in their presence for a couple of minutes. Then again, up until now, none of their attention was on me. Really, I’m half tempted to shout for Frank to come back outside to distract them.
“It’s nice to meet you both. I mean, it’s nice to see you both again,” I clarify, since we did meet, even if I don’t remember it.
“I’m sorry about this, April.” Myla sighs with her shoulders slumping. “Please know that we’re not normally like this.”
“We are normally like this,” Kai says behind her, and I can’t see the look she gives her husband when she spins around to face him, but I’m guessing she’s silently telling him to be quiet, because that’s what my mom would be doing right about now. “It’s true, makamae. Craziness seems to follow us wherever we go,” he tells her softly as he reaches out to touch her cheek with the tips of his fingers.
“It really is okay,” I cut in, not wanting her to be upset, and she turns back toward us slowly. “I grew up in a large family that is always doing or saying things that are embarrassing, so if anything, this introduction has made me feel right at home.”
“Well then.” Her eyes drop to her son’s hand holding mine for a moment and soften before they meet mine once more. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” I say, and Maxim’s hand gives mine a squeeze—probably because he asked if I wanted something to eat before we left his house and I said no. Something that wasn’t a lie at the time, since I was pretty sure I would get sick if I did try to eat.
“Then come on in.” She steps away from her husband and motions me with her hand to follow her inside. “I’ll show you around, get you some food, then we can sit by the pool to chat if it’s not too hot.”