Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
He sits down next to me and I laugh. “I don’t even know what to think. Like for one, wait until I see my sister.” I shake my head. “There will be some heated words exchanged. You know she asked me to watch the kids while she went out this week. Probably here.”
“She did,” he confirms.
“Traitor,” I hiss out. “Chase, this is.” I try to think of the words. “This is just…”
He pulls me to him and I straddle his waist. “I love you,” he whispers, right before he kisses me and then trails kisses to my cheek and neck.
“I love you, too.” I move my head to the side, giving him more access to my neck. “But—”
“Shhh,” he hushes, putting his finger on my lips and I throw my head back and laugh. “Pick your battles.” I’m about to argue with him but his mouth crashes down on mine and he spends the night convincing me.
I slide my hand into Chase’s as we make our way up the driveway to his parents’ house. He opens the door with his empty hand and we can hear the chaos already. “How does it sound louder and louder every single time,” Chase says, and I try not to laugh at him.
“There they are.” Jillian smiles at me and all I can do is glare at her. “You look nice.” She ignores my glare. “I like that top.”
“No, you don’t. You actually gave me this top because you hate it.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Traitor.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she says and I roll my eyes. “Oh, wait, are you talking about the house?”
“You know damn well I’m talking about the house, Jillian.” I put my hands on my hips as Chase stands behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “How could you?”
“I thought I was doing you a favor.” Her voice goes a touch louder.
“A favor would have been you telling him it’s a horrible idea and not to do it.” The minute I say those words, she is the one who rolls her eyes.
“He already made the decision to buy the house, you think me saying no would have changed it?” She laughs. “Have you not met anyone in this family?”
I’m about to argue with her when my phone buzzes in my side pocket, taking it out, I whisper, “It’s my work.” I look over at Chase and then at Jillian, whose eyes go big. I press the green button, turning and walking outside where it is quiet. “Hello.” I put the phone to my ear.
“Julia, it’s Rosalind,” she says, and I don’t know why but I hold my breath.
“Hi,” I finally reply.
“I’m calling with good news,” she says and I just listen. “Once the grandparents were told the father filed for custody of Penelope, they dropped their case against you.” I close my eyes at that news. “They knew pursuing a lawsuit against you while suing the father for custody at the same time would potentially weaken their custody case. They would be perceived as greedy and lawsuit happy which, apparently, they are. Once the district attorney found out they dropped their lawsuit, he dismissed all charges against you.”
“Thank you for telling me,” I say softly.
“I wanted to call and let you know. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk about your return date.”
“Sure,” I say, stunned as she hangs up. Just like that, it’s over. I put my hand in front of my mouth as the tears now come. I squat down on the front porch, the weight of the past month running through me when the door opens.
“Hey,” Chase says, squatting down in front of me. A worried look all over his face, his hand comes up to hold my face. “What happened?”
“It’s over,” are the only words that I can pull out of me. “They dropped the charges and the case.” He pulls me into his arms where I bury my face in his neck, and I sob even more.
The door opens and Jillian stands there looking down at us, her eyes go wide. “Oh my God, he did it,” she says and I just look at her. “I can’t believe he did it.”
“Did what?” I ask her and then look back at Chase.
“Um,” Chase says, and then looks at me before pushing me up straight but he stays down, going on one knee. “Not yet, but might as well since you can’t keep a secret.” He turns and looks at Jillian. “I was going to do this last night but the house didn’t go over that well and I was picking my battles.”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Jillian says. “It’s happening now.”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” I mumble, thinking, what the fuck is going on. I also lean down and try to pull Chase up to standing, but he doesn’t move, he only laughs.