Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“That game was rigged!” Kyle yelled from behind us, which made all the girls laugh.
Then, they were threading their arms with me and with each other, and we strolled up to the bar like a burlesque troupe.
I was quiet while they ordered us drinks, Giana promising me I would love the fruity gin one she was having the virgin version of. I’d forgotten she was pregnant until that comment, and I noticed then that she had a little bump under the flared, plaid skirt she wore.
My chest hurt a bit as I stood there watching them all, the way they so easily laughed and joked with each other. I could tell they were best friends.
I’d never had anything like that.
“So, how did you and Kyle meet exactly?” Julep asked once we all had cocktails.
I cleared my throat, stirring mine. “We went to high school together.”
“I heard you were his babysitter,” Mary said, tilting her martini glass toward me. “I’ve had that job before, too. We can commiserate.”
“Babysitter?” Julep asked.
“Long story short, his parents didn’t trust him after a massive party he threw his freshman year, and they offered to pay me to basically keep him in line. I’m only a couple years older than he is,” I said.
“Oh, God. I bet he hated that,” Riley said. “I can picture him throwing fits.”
“He was an absolute horror the first month or so,” I confirmed, and I didn’t know why, but a smile spread on my face as I took a sip of my drink. “Although, I think he secretly liked when I bossed him around.”
“That tracks,” Mary said. “He called me daddy when I lived with him.”
I nearly spit out my drink. “Lived with him?”
“Against my will, trust me,” she said. “Long story short, I had no place to live, and the guys let me stay at The Pit for a while.”
“Okay, but can we get back to the most important question here,” Giana said, waving her friend off. Her eyes lit with excitement when she turned to me. “How did you reconnect? How long have you been dating?”
“Yeah, and how do you put up with the smell of his cleats?” Riley added.
I laughed with the rest of them, even as my heart started pounding in my chest.
Kyle and I hadn’t talked about any of this. We hadn’t made a plan.
I didn’t want to say anything different than what he might be telling the guys right now, so I tried to get as close to the truth as possible.
“I showed him a house. I’m a real estate agent in Seattle. We went to dinner to catch up and…” I shrugged. “Here we are.”
“Second-chance!” Giana said on a dreamy sigh. “I love that one.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Sorry about G. She can’t help but romanticize everything, due to her consuming approximately four smutty books a day.”
“If you’re looking for recommendations, I have a Spicy Books for Beginners list,” Giana said to me with a wink.
“So, you’re in real estate?” Julep asked. “I have an unhealthy addiction to home renovation shows. What made you get into the business?”
I blew out a breath, trying to keep up with the pace of conversation that felt kind of like an interrogation. “Honestly, I was just trying to find a job I could do while also taking care of my son.”
There was a brief pause from the group, and I waited for it — for the reaction I’d had from many girls my age when I told them about Sebastian. Sure, I’d met moms who were as young as I was, but more often than not in Seattle, I was the youngest.
And more often than not, girls my age couldn’t imagine having a kid yet, and they also couldn’t hide their pity when they found out I had one. It was like they felt sorry for me, like I was missing out on partying and living it up the way they were.
If only they knew that partying was the last thing I wanted to do. If only they could understand that having Sebastian had changed my life for the better.
I loved him more than I loved anything or anyone in the world.
And where it might have seemed boring or like an obligation to most women my age, I cherished every moment I got to spend with my kid. I lived for our adventures, for our lazy days, for our nights we laughed so hard that tears ran down our cheeks.
I waited for someone to do the awkward, “Oh, you have a kid? That’s so sweet!” thing, but instead, Giana jumped for joy and abandoned her glass on the bar so she could grab onto me.
“You have a son?! Oh, my God! Show us!”
The girls all gathered around me as I pulled up my phone and showed them my background, which was Sebastian grinning at the camera from where he was bundled up and making a snow angel.