Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 105089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Tears filled her eyes and she hugged the big guy. He could often be a pain in the ass, but when you least expected it. Bam! He came out with the sweet stuff.
Immy sniffled as they pulled apart.
“What’s wrong?” Sampson demanded.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Cat told him. “That was just so sweet.”
Sampson rolled his eyes, making her giggle. Then the music started playing and the doors opened.
Everyone turned to her. Cat could feel them staring, but she only had eyes for the man standing under the archway of flowers at the end. He studied her, his face intense.
Immy had already headed off down the aisle. Cat started moving as Sampson prompted her, thankful that he was there to guide her.
She moved as though there was an invisible string between them, pulling her toward him. When they were within a foot of him, Alejandro took her from Sampson, reaching down to tilt up her face so he could kiss her.
She moaned into his mouth as he kissed her deeply, possessively. She swayed as he drew back, wanting more.
“I think you’re supposed to wait until I give her to you,” Sampson said dryly.
Oh hell. She’d forgotten that they had an audience.
Whoops.
Heat filled her cheeks.
“She was too beautiful to resist,” Alejandro said in a quiet murmur, nodding at Sampson. “You can go now.”
She huffed a breath at Alejandro.
The celebrant cleared his throat and started speaking. Sampson waited around for the man to ask who was giving her away. He stared at Alejandro for a long moment.
“I am, so long as he promises to take good care of her.”
She sucked in a breath, hoping that Alejandro didn’t take that the wrong way.
Alejandro’s face filled with respect and understanding as he nodded. “I promise.”
Sampson kissed her cheek briefly. Alejandro tugged her away, glaring at him, although his gaze didn’t hold much heat.
Men.
She leaned into him as the celebrant started talking.
“Where’s your brother?” she whispered.
“Too much of a crowd. But don’t worry, I’m sure he will be around later, Sprinkles.”
Yeah, she wasn’t sure about that nickname.
She wrapped her hand around Alejandro’s and started listening to the celebrant, pushing Ortega from her mind.
Today, she married the man she loved.
And she didn’t want to miss a second of it.
1
Ten months later . . .
You are the bowling ball.
Be the bowling ball.
Cat stared down at the oversized bowling pins in the middle of the entrance. They came up to her boobs when she was standing. Luckily, they were light, so they shouldn’t hurt her when she crashed into them.
Well. She hoped not, anyway.
Cat positioned her skateboard at the end of the long hallway. The floors were shiny marble, which would help with her momentum.
She put her helmet on. Safety first.
She patted herself on the back for remembering that.
Alejandro couldn’t grumble at her if she had a helmet on. Hmm. Perhaps she should have bought knee and arm pads.
No. That would be overreacting.
She settled her goggles over her eyes. She’d forgotten to buy safety goggles so she was using her swimming ones instead.
They were blue with little fish along the strap—freaking adorable.
Cat was currently at their house in Southampton. The entrance was even larger than the one in their home in Manhattan.
Alejandro might have forbidden her from owning a skateboard. But Cat wasn’t someone who’d let her husband stop her from doing something.
Even if that husband was also her Daddy Dom.
If he punished her, then so be it . . . her bet was he wouldn’t even notice.
“After all, he’s forgotten all about me, Roger. I’ve been abandoned.” She picked up her toy pirate and put him in the front pack before pulling it on. He was facing forward so he could see.
Roger was a badass risk-taker.
Just like Cat.
“We are the baddest badasses of them all, Roger. And we got this. We don’t care if we’ve been abandoned like yesterday’s garbage, right? We don’t smell.”
She gave Roger a sniff. “Actually, you still smell a bit after yesterday’s adventure. That wasn’t so successful.”
She’d been attempting to make a stink bomb. And she’d been really successful. Too successful. Mrs. Heckler was still trying to air out the kitchen.
She sighed sadly. If Doomy Gloomy was here, he’d have told her that she was a troublesome brat and to stay out of his kitchen. And then he’d probably have chased her away with a broom or a kitchen towel. She’d have told him he was too old and slow to hit a barn at three paces away, and he’d have told her she was the bane of his existence.
Ahh. Good times.
Darn it. Since when did she miss Doomy Gloomy? Everyone who worked here was just so darn polite. Bernie had stayed in the Manhattan house to take care of Alejandro . . . so basically, he’d abandoned her too.
“I don’t care if I’ve been left here to rot. My feelings aren’t hurt. I’ve got my own life to live! Starting with becoming a giant bowling ball. What do you think? Do you reckon we can knock all the pins down?”