Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
What about that kiss? That orgasm?
Never mind both of them. So what if no one had ever kissed me like that? Except Finn, ten years before. Never mind that I hadn’t had an orgasm like that since . . . Since never, if I was being honest. Oliver and I had a satisfying sex life—before he lost interest. He’d lost interest a long time before he died.
Was I just going to forget how Finn made me feel? In a flash, I considered my options. Considered what would happen if we did that again.
No. Not happening. It would not end well, and I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with the fallout from sleeping with my boss's rebellious little brother. Not happening. End of story.
I turned my attention back to my ever-present to-do list. I had to prepare for the day and get Nicky ready for school. By the time I had my hair pinned up and my uniform on, Nicky was awake, leaning in the doorway of the bathroom. “Mr. Finn likes loud music.”
“It seems he does,” I said, ruffling Nicky’s hair and pointing him in the direction of his waiting toothbrush. “Get to work on those teeth. I’ll get your uniform, and we’ll see what he has for your breakfast.”
Nicky’s morning routine was much faster than mine. Teeth brushed, he pulled on the navy pants and polo shirt all the boys wore to Laurel Country Day this time of year. I ran a brush through his hair after he pushed his head through his shirt, and he was ready, minus his sneakers. I located those along with his backpack, and we emerged into the kitchens to find Finn loading the dumbwaiter with shiny silver chafing dishes for the buffet upstairs.
“Waffles,” he grunted. Jerking his head to the kitchen table, he said, “Your breakfast is waiting when you get the first shift settled.”
I answered with a nod, ushering Nicky ahead of me into the hall toward the stairs to the first level. While Nicky and August usually ate in the kitchen, breakfast was the exception. With everyone on different schedules, it was easiest to set up a buffet in the dining room rather than feeding the early diners in both the kitchen and the dining room.
Kissing Nicky on the top of his head as I gently pushed him to his chair, I went to unload the dumbwaiter and get the buffet ready before anyone else showed up. When Griffen and Hope arrived a few minutes later, I had the chafing dishes set up with waffles, sausages, eggs, and biscuits. I set out carafes of hot coffee and one of tea, scanning the room to see what I was missing. Nothing. Hot syrup and a bowl of cut fruit went beside the waffles. My stomach growled.
Pounding feet announced August and Thatcher, who spilled through the dining room door in a rush, Thatcher calling over his shoulder, “It smells so good, Tenn!”
“Waffles!” came August’s shout of agreement. The two of them fell on the buffet like starving animals.
Tenn strolled in behind them, sending me a grin. “I hope Finn made enough. These two are ravenous. As usual.”
I hovered for a few minutes, making sure everyone had what they needed and Nicky didn’t drown his waffles in a vat of syrup. A perverse part of me was annoyed at how happy everyone was with Finn’s breakfast.
Mrs. Bailey’s breakfasts had been just fine. Waffles were waffles, right? But then I spied Hope taking a second bite. I hadn’t seen her tuck into breakfast like that since she got pregnant, and I tried to let go of my annoyance. It was good she was eating, and even though Finn had been responsible for this meal, if the result was that Hope kept some food down, I’d take it. Part of it was probably just the natural progression of her pregnancy easing up on her morning sickness, but I had to admit, it was also the waffles. They did just look that good.
I was about to find out for myself. “I’m headed downstairs. If anyone needs anything, let me know.”
I held up my phone before tucking it in my pocket. The house had an elaborate system of bells to alert staff to the needs of the family, but it was designed for a much larger staff than we had these days. Griffen and I had decided on a simple messaging app we’d customized for our purposes. Everyone living in the house and on the staff had the app, and we essentially texted to communicate. So much simpler than running every time the bell rang.
Griffen waved me off, his mouth full, and I went, both my stomach and my hormones dying for my own plate of waffles. The buttery maple scent in the air was making my head spin.