Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
“Hi. I’m here for Abigail—your mother. She must’ve told you we were coming, right?” He sticks out his hand. “Jonathan. I met her last week at Fi’s Cups and Cakes. She was getting paper towels for you.”
“Right …” I mutter. “I remember that.” My eyes narrow. “Wait … did you just say we?”
“Jonathan!” My mother’s squeal from the kitchen makes me step aside as she forces her way through to hug him tightly.
Wow.
That was quick.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she says.
“You look beautiful today, Abigail,” he says, making her blush.
My mom hasn’t blushed since my dad last called her pretty.
“Are these for me?” my mother asks as he hands her the flowers, and she takes a whiff. “Thank you.” She pecks him on the cheek while she ushers him inside.
But my eyes don’t just widen at the sudden affection they’re showing to each other after having only known each other for a single week.
It’s the fact that Jonathan didn’t come alone.
And when the second guy’s eyes settle on mine, there is nothing but fire raging behind them.
“Crystal, this is Jonathan and his son, Caleb.”
Caleb
My face darkens, eyes growing wickedly sharp the second I lay eyes on the daughter of my father’s new fling.
It’s her.
Crystal Murphy.
Her mother is my dad’s fucking crush?
My fist tightens as I struggle to contain the anger flooding my veins.
“Aren’t you going to say hi?” her mother asks when the whole house has gone quiet.
A slow but dubious smile forms on her lips. “Hi.”
The softness in her voice makes it hard to breathe.
This is her doing. I just know it is. How else could this happen? Her mother came up to my father after she dropped her coffee. Their meeting wasn’t a coincidence. She shouldn’t have been there in the first place, yet …
My father pushes me forward. “Go on.”
My eyes narrow. “Hi.”
She tilts her head at me in such a mischievous way that it makes my hard-on twitch.
That look on her face … she’s pretending she doesn’t know me?
Fuck.
She’s definitely doing this on purpose.
And my dick is definitely hardening in my pants from the sheer audacity.
“Well, who’s hungry?” her mother asks to break the ice.
She scurries off into the kitchen while my dad places his coat on the rack and sits down at the table.
“Sit, sit!” her mother tells us as she comes back inside with a tray filled with freshly baked potatoes. “Dinner’s all ready.”
“That was quick,” my dad says.
“She’s been prepping all day,” Crystal muses.
I grasp the chair beside my dad and sit down reluctantly despite Crystal staring at me like she’s too afraid to even say a single word.
I pick up a piece of bread and shove it into my mouth while my dad grumbles.
“Caleb. Behave.”
“I am,” I retort. “And I didn’t ask to be dragged here.”
Crystal sits down opposite me and casually pours my dad some water before pouring herself a glass. So I grab the water when she’s finished and slowly pour my own glass while glaring at her, then pick up my glass and take a huge gulp, my eyes still locked on hers.
She did this, and I want her to know I’ll make her regret it.
My father clears his throat. “Caleb, I just wanted you to meet my girlfriend.”
I spit out my water. “Girlfriend?!”
Her mother steps in with a plate filled with pork loin and sauce, a blush creeping onto her cheeks when she sees my dad and me.
“Oh … you told him?” she mutters.
He nods. “Yes. I have no reason to hide.” My father stretches out his hand, and she puts down the plate before offering her hand. He presses a gentle kiss on top that makes me want to vomit. “You’re too lovely not to share.”
She chuckles and blushes some more, and the sight makes me want to roll my eyes.
I haven’t seen my father act like this in a long time.
She leans in, and he kisses her right in front of me, and Crystal’s jaw is nearly on the floor.
“Wow. That was quick.”
“Sorry, we can’t help ourselves,” her mother says, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Sparks have been flying since I first laid eyes on him.”
“I couldn’t help myself. She was that beautiful,” my father says.
“O-kay …” I mutter. “The food’s getting cold, though.”
“Oh, right, let’s eat, everyone!” her mother says and sits down beside Crystal.
But as her mother scoops up potatoes onto my plate, all I can do is stare at Crystal, who seems blissfully unaware of how much I want to punish her for letting all this happen.
But I won’t let her get away with this.
Crystal
I haven’t eaten. I nibbled at my food.
I guess that’s what happens when a muscular, tattooed, threatening guy stares at you with each bite you take.
He’s wearing a pair of expensive-looking black pantaloons and a white button-up shirt, complete with a jacket. His dad must’ve told him to dress nice for the occasion, which means his dad thinks my mom is a big deal. But he’s still got those piercings and that upside-down cross dangling from his earlobe to rebel.