Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
The dog let out one deep woof, and then promptly went to sleep.
She’d never seen anything so ridiculous. And funny.
She grinned.
“Sorry about Mr. Fluffy. He tires easily. I asked the vet if there was something wrong with him, but the vet just diagnosed him as lazy. And because he’s lazy, he’s getting f-a-t.”
“Fat?”
A grumble came from Mr. Fluffy.
“Shh.” Millie waved her hands around in the air. “He doesn’t like that word. That’s why I spelled it out.”
“He knows the word fat?” she asked incredulously.
Another grumble from Mr. Fluffy.
All right. It seemed he did know that word.
“He’s really a very sensitive doggie, aren’t you, Mr. Fluffy? Who’s Mama’s baby?”
Okay, it seemed that Millie was as nutty as her dog. And Effie thought that was hilarious. For the first time in days, some light was coming back into her world.
“Now, I’m Millie. Oh, drat. I already said that.”
“It’s okay. I’m Effie.”
Millie beamed at her. “I know. You’re Damon and Grady’s. Which is freaking awesome! Spike now owes me fifty bucks, which I’m going to spend at that new Little store in town. They have the best dinosaur stuff.”
It surprised Effie that she was so open about being a Little. Then again, maybe it shouldn’t. Millie seemed very secure in who she was.
And why wouldn’t she be when she was absolutely rocking it?
She wore a blue dress with a tiny print of T-Rex’s in tutus dancing on it. It was cinched in at her waist, then flared out. And she had on a white cardigan and shiny shoes.
She was curvy and gorgeous.
“I told him that Steele and Grady would find someone to share. He said it would never happen.”
That’s what they’d bet on?
Millie perched on the armchair next to the bed, placing her enormous patchwork handbag down.
“Gorgeous handbag, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Millie beamed. “That’s because it’s one of a kind. An original Kate Spain.”
Kate Spain?
“One of my friends. I could get her to make you one if you like. Actually, that’s an excellent idea, seeing as you’re going to be my sister-in-law.”
What?
Shock filled her. Even if Steele was anywhere close to proposing . . . she didn’t think that was actually the way it worked.
“Um, Millie, that’s sweet—”
“They’ll all want to meet you, of course. My friends. That’s where we’re off to after we leave here. To Nowhere. But Daddy needed to come here first to talk to Damon about this guy called Wolfe, who turned up at Reaper’s the other night. That’s the name of the bar that Reyes owns, where members of the Iron Shadows hang out. I have something for you.”
“Nowhere?” she asked, her mind spinning as Millie drew a piece of clothing out of her bag.
“Yep, Nowhere. That’s where I’m from. That’s where we’re going. My friends usually come here, but they’re getting pretty old. I don’t tell them that, though. Reverend Pat gets upset.”
She was so confused.
“I made you this.” She held out a bright pink T-shirt with a picture of a sloth on the front. “Damon said you liked sloths and Grady said you like bright colors.”
Millie gave her a curious look as she took her creation. Yeah, she understood that look since she was wearing one of Steele’s black T-shirts today and Slowly was hidden under the covers.
“It’s gorgeous. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Oh, and . . . ta-da!” She drew out a jar filled with blue and white jelly beans. “They also said you like jelly beans, and that your favorites are the blue and white ones. So, I made the ultimate sacrifice and ate the others. Daddy wasn’t too pleased, but he’ll get over it.”
She’d eaten all those jelly beans?
“Don’t worry, I had help,” Millie said as though reading her mind. “There were a lot of jelly beans.”
“Ooh, thank you. I needed some magic beans.”
“Magic beans!” Millie cried. “I love it. And you don’t eat S foods?”
“Um, no.”
“Fair enough. I don’t eat meat.”
There was a knock on the open door and a huge, bald man stepped inside. He folded his arms and gave Millie a stern look.
“Hi, Daddy. This is Effie.”
Spike nodded to her, but his gaze went quickly back to Millie.
“Oh, all right,” Millie said in response to something Spike seemed to communicate without words. “I know, I’m sorry.”
He grunted. “Didn’t have permission.”
“But I had to give Effie the gifts I made.”
“Coulda given it to Steele.”
“But then I couldn’t meet Effie,” Millie argued.
“Two.” He left the room.
“That’s your Daddy?” Effie whispered.
“Oh yeah, isn’t he sweet?”
Good Lord.
“Anyway, do you need anything? Can I help with anything?” Millie asked.
“Um, don’t you have to go?”
Millie waved a hand through the air. “He said two minutes, but he really means twenty.”
Yeah, Effie was convinced that he didn’t.
She had to pee, but she wasn’t going to ask Millie to help her and risk Spike getting grumpy.
“I’m fine. Thank you for the T-shirt and jelly beans.”