Total pages in book: 198
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
I shot to my feet so fast, I was surprised I didn’t knock the table over.
These two were going to set the house on fire if I didn’t do something. I wasn’t sure I’d ever witnessed a conversation go downhill that fast, and I’d heard some things.
Amos and Rhodes were rookies.
Luckily for them, I had a doctorate in passive-aggressive and straight-up aggressive family figures. And this man wasn’t the woman who I’d thought of as my mother-in-law. I knew I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life kissing this man’s ass to be happy.
I owed them. I could do this.
I took the stairs as fast as I could and had just stridden outside when I heard Rhodes’s strained, strained voice spitting out, “—can look however he wants to look, sir.”
Yep, the house was going to get burned down.
And my garage apartment would go up with it.
I would tell myself later on I was doing it for me just as much as I was doing it for them, and that’s why I shouted, sounding like an out of breath maniac from taking the stairs so fast, “Rhodes, can you help me—oh, sorry. Hi.”
Amos’s eyes were wide, and I could tell he was trying to process what I was doing while being so surprised.
Standing beside a Mercedes G-Wagen, the older Mr. Rhodes was shorter than his son, but the resemblance was there in different ways. The same cleft chin. The shape of his cheeks. The beefy build. Especially the shape of that severe mouth.
And he was staring at me.
I had to use my powers for good.
Focusing on Rhodes, I saw the pensive expression on his face . . . the slight confusion there. The lines were there across his forehead. His mouth was pressed flat, but I doubted it was from me.
I was still looking at Rhodes when he asked, “What do you need, angel?”
“Nothing that can’t wait, sorry,” I said, hoping I actually sounded apologetic and not full of shit and winging everything. He’d called me the wrong name again, but it was fine. “Is this your dad?” I asked, trying to sound sweet so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea.
“Yes. This is Randall. Dad, this is Aurora . . . our friend,” Rhodes said softly.
His friend?
That might be more epic than being his girlfriend, honestly. Screw it, I’d even go as far as to say this might be more of an honor than being someone’s wife. What!
A big, effortless smile took over my mouth and, honestly, probably my entire face too as I decided right then that I hadn’t made a mistake coming over.
I was about to smooth shit over as much as possible for them. As long as Rhodes didn’t give me a dirty look that said beat it. I recognized that face on him.
“Nice to meet you, Randall,” I said, coming to a stop in front of the man who was standing at the bottom of the deck.
Then I went for it, laying it on real thick because killing people with kindness was so satisfying. I threw my arms around his shoulders and hugged him.
I was pretty positive I heard Amos choke, but I wasn’t sure.
Randall Rhodes stiffened under my arms, and I squeezed him tighter before taking a step back and thrusting my hand out.
The older man’s eyes flicked toward his son’s in surprise or maybe even disgruntlement for being touched by a stranger before he slowly extended his own hand and took mine. His wasn’t too firm or too soft, but I’d learned not to be the weaker party unless it was in my best interest, so I gave him a solid shake back.
“Nice to meet you,” I told him brightly.
The older man gazed at me like he didn’t know what to think before flicking his gaze back to Rhodes. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone.”
“We’re not together,” I corrected him, imagining for a second a world in which Rhodes wouldn’t kill me if I pretended to be his girlfriend.
Because I would.
But he would kill me, I was pretty sure, so we were going to stick to the truth. “But I wish, you know what I mean, Mr. Randall?” I snickered playfully.
The older man blinked, and I didn’t miss the long, inspection-like look he gave me. Not an old perv, but curious. Not dead. Maybe a little confused on top of everything.
When I met Amos’s gaze, he gave me this bug-eyed expression that told me he might be having the time of his life.
“I apologize,” Randall Rhodes said, sounding cryptic and still confused. “My son doesn’t tell me anything.”
Shots fired.
I smiled about as sweetly at him as possible. “You’re both so busy, you don’t call each other much, period, I’m sure. It happens.” He wasn’t going to put all the blame on his son.