Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 94897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
That was a score.
“I’m not putting on a show for Haley and her girls and your new beau.” Elijah’s voice was betraying a hint of impatience.
“Her girls? Her girls?” Archie’s voice was rising. “You mean our sisters?”
“Ohmigod, how sweet,” Liane whispered, but the whisper was thick.
“They are not—” Elijah began.
“Do not fucking finish that!” Archie screamed, loud and shrill.
Whoa.
Jag moved in again and caught her on both sides of her neck.
She looked up at him, and the second she did, two tears tracked down opposite cheeks.
His gut started burning.
“Your sister is crying,” Jag declared, his voice crisp and sharp.
Nothing from Elijah but a hand came between Archie and Jag and nabbed Archie’s phone.
It was Andy.
Jag pulled her into his arms.
When he got her there, her arms curved around him and got tight.
Andy spoke into the phone. “We need to end this now.”
“Dad—”
“Two of your sisters are crying, Elijah, and so is my wife, who cares deeply for you whether you want that or not. She’s given it to you from the beginning. Now, Haley started preparing this dinner last night, Elijah, because she knew how important it was. And then she spent hours in the kitchen this evening because she wanted Jagger to know that too. Something I’ve seen her do on countless occasions for you. And now that dinner is ruined, as so many of them have been before, and I need to look after my family. We’ll talk later.”
“Take me off speaker, Dad.”
“I can’t, son, I have other things I need to do right now.”
And with that, Andy disconnected.
He looked to Jagger. “You have her?”
“Yes,” Jag answered what he thought was unnecessarily, but he was not yet a dad.
Andy nodded and turned, “Liane, honey, come here.”
Liane wandered to him, and the minute she got close, she was in his arms.
Hellen was holding Haley.
Archie sniffled into his chest.
“Welcome to the family, Jagger,” Andy remarked sarcastically.
Before Jag could say something to try to defuse the situation, Archie’s phone rang in his hand.
Andy looked to it and declined the call.
That hurt to witness, and it probably killed Andy to do it.
But Elijah would have to be fucked right the hell up if he didn’t feel the worst of that.
Not there, by his choice. Blocked out, by his actions.
Knowing he caused pain and unable to do anything about it.
Also on him.
Which would be gutting.
At least it would be to Jagger.
Jag decided not to reply to Andy’s remark. He just held Archie with one arm and caught her around the back of the neck with his other hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“One thing I know right now, I need a flipping cupcake,” Hellen declared.
Haley cry-laughed, so did Liane, and Archie turned her head, pressing her cheek to Jagger’s chest, but she didn’t let him go as she said, “I do too.”
“I’m eating three of those babies,” Andy announced.
“I’m so, so glad I doubled the recipe,” Haley stated.
“I’m so, so glad you always double the recipe, Mom,” Liane said.
“Well, I have to send my girls home with cupcakes.” Her gaze fell on Archie and she concluded tentatively. “All my girls.”
Archie lurched in his arms and shoved her face in his chest again.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—” Haley began quickly.
“You should.” Archie’s voice came muffled, but no one missed it.
He knew this when Haley whimpered.
So did Liane.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Hellen said, holding tight to her mother even as she shuffled her mom in the direction of a box of tissue. “It’s good Jagger and me are badass or this would be totally pathetic rather than just mostly pathetic. And just to note, I’m epically disappointed that Archie’s turned to the dark side and become a crier. This is completely messing with my plans to have a girls’ night viewing of The Fault in Our Stars.”
He felt Archie’s body start shaking with laughter in his arms and he could have kissed Hellen for it.
“What? I’m not badass?” Andy asked.
“It’s impossible for Dad Units to be badass,” Hellen returned.
“She better not say that around Hound,” Jag whispered in Archie’s ear, and her shaking got worse.
Hellen continued in her attempt to lighten the atmosphere, and she did it with a threat to Andy. “But do I have to share with the class what happened when you and me watched Me Before You together?”
“Please, God, don’t,” Andy begged.
Liane giggled.
So did Haley.
“Dad can get the weepies,” Archie confided in a mumble.
“Right,” Jag mumbled back.
Everyone started migrating back to the dining room as Archie pulled her face out of his chest.
“So, as you now know, I can have my not-so-chill times.”
“You losing it in the face of the pain of someone you love, pain that someone else you love is causing, let me go on record as saying is all kinds of hot,” he shared.
“You think everything I do is hot.”