Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“Bye, Sweetie. Love you too.”
The line disconnects and I waste not a single second to call my one and only.
“Hey, you’re alive.” He sounds happy and also breathless. I love the deep, husky sound of his voice. It awakens my very soul.
“Barely, I ache.” He chuckles at my moaning. “I miss you; where are you guys?”
“We are having lunch after a pleasant stroll through Hyde Park.”
I hear Dillan yelling, “Pigeon!”
Nathan sighs and I laugh.
“Or it was a pleasant stroll.” He mumbles so quietly I only just hear him.
“You know how much he loves birds.”
“No, it’s not that… can I call you back?”
“What? Why?” My heart begins pattering a quick beat. “What’s wrong?”
“My umm… my mother.”
Holy crap. My face flushes with fire. I’m so angry knowing she’s even within five miles of my children. “She’d better not be trying to talk to you.”
“Of course she won’t, but I’d rather she didn’t see our children. I’ll call you.” He hangs up before I can protest, not that I would. Clearly he needs both hands free to steer the children away from that wicked witch.
Speaking of his parents, his dad’s trial is soon. He had a heart attack two months after he almost killed us both and they postponed the event, though he hasn’t been let off in the meantime. I’m not entirely sure how he has been dealt with; Nathan hates speaking about it. What I do know is he’s looking at a life sentence. I just hope his pull in the business world, his money and his lack of a criminal record don’t influence that.
That man is a monster and he deserves every single ounce of pain and punishment that he gets. If I could personally shoot him in the face, I would.
His mother is no better. Vile monsters, the pair of them.
Though thinking such dark thoughts hardly makes me much better. I shouldn’t be thinking of them at all.
Deep breaths.
Nathan doesn’t call me back and I don’t want to bother him if he’s ushering the kids around, so I take the time alone to do the chores and have a shower. I have to be at work at four, thankfully not too early, so I have time to recover, though I’d really like to see my babies before I vanish for twelve hours again.
Gwen: Are you coming home at all? I have to leave again soon.
Nathan: We’re on our way. Traffic is terrible. X
It always is, but I’m too scared to use the underground alone. I grew up in small towns and big cities scare me. The moment I get the chance, I’ll be out of London and back in the countryside. As awful as the memories are that that house held, it was the first place I ever truly felt at home. I miss the quiet. I miss the scents. I miss how I felt being there with Nathan. I smile when my mind calls upon the memory of the time Nathan proposed to me in a letter and I avoided it for days. This then triggers the memory of the conversation I had with Sasha last night.
Gwen: Has he proposed yet?
Sasha: He’s not home from work yet.
Gwen: Oh…
Sasha: Should I check his pocket?
Gwen: Absolutely not! Let him do this his own way.
I’m surprised that Tommy hasn’t mentioned anything though. I only spoke to him last Friday. We don’t text much these days; we call and chat. He hates texting; he feels as though it’s too impersonal. That and he doesn’t want to waste time typing when he can get what he needs to say out in less than five minutes.
Sasha: You wouldn’t snoop?
Gwen: Nope.
Sasha: Boring. Where’s the excitement in that?
Rolling my eyes but smiling broadly, I place my phone down and limp into the kitchen. I need lunch before work. Because I slept until late, my body clock is all wrong. I didn’t get breakfast until lunchtime and even though I’m not yet hungry, I don’t know what time I’ll get a break at work and be able to eat, so I’m going to stock up on energy foods now. A fruit salad and some Greek yoghurt should do the trick. I hope.
I also pop a couple of painkillers with my lunch to help with the aching.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” Nathan calls as he enters but I don’t care about that. I’m just happy to see him and my little cuties.
Dillan takes a running leap at me and immediately buries his face in my hair. Nathan balances Emily on his hip and nuzzles her nose with his. The way she smiles up at him with sleepy eyes to match his, I almost melt.
“What happened with your birth lady?” I ask, not wanting to ruin this precious moment but I need to know.
He shrugs and his eyes evade mine. “Nothing.”