Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“I did,” she says. “Barb and I had a long talk about everything: you, the girls, and business. The last thing I want to do is upset Stormy.”
“Stormy’s attitude is mine to deal with, Zara.”
She shakes her head. I catch her smiling at Willow, who is sharing the same sentiment. “If I’m going to be here, they both need to know that I’m here for them as well.”
My eyes pin to her eyes, but only briefly. I have to look away, afraid that I might shed a tear. Days. . . that is how long I’ve known this woman, and I’m already falling head over heels in love with her.
Glancing back at Willow, she’s still smiling as she stuffs her face with French toast doused in syrup. I shake my head, and they both laugh as if I’m the last one to get the joke. I’m not. Believe me. I know when I’m being ganged up on, and honestly, I love it. If Zara wants to be a part of our lives, she’s more than welcome.
Since Zara prepared breakfast, I man the cleanup duties in the kitchen while Willow cleans off the table. I turn on some music, making it loud enough to carry throughout the house, and start a dance party with Willow once she’s completed her chore. In the corner, Zara is snickering, commenting on my moves, but Willow is laughing. She’s giggling so hard that she has tears rolling down her face.
And when Stormy comes out to see what all the fuss is about, I take her by her hands and pull her into the kitchen, and dance with her. She balks at first, but gives in soon enough and starts shaking her hips right along to the music. When I look at Zara, she’s videotaping us and if I’m not mistaken, bobbing her head up and down to the beat of the song.
When it’s over, I collapse in a heap, onto the counter, panting as if I’ve just run a marathon.
“Daddy, how do you expect to go on tour if you’re an old man?” Stormy says in between fits of laughter.
“Daddy’s not old, Stormy.”
“Thanks, Willow,” I say, half out of breath.
“He’s ancient,” Willow says, giggling even louder.
“You guys are very funny.” I try to concentrate on loading the dishwasher, but the disc jockeys on the local country station are mentioning my name. I go to turn it off, but Zara tells me that she wants to hear what they’re saying.
“Are the rumors true regarding Levi Austin and Reverend Sister’s lead singer, Zara Phillips?”
“Could be. He spent a month out in Los Angeles, right about the time she filed for divorce, and now she’s here. I’d say it’s pretty serious.”
I scoff at the radio, but Zara laughs. “We’ve known each other for a week,” she points out as I nod.
“Daddy says never to listen to anything you hear on the radio, and that only if it comes from the horse’s mouth should you believe it,” Stormy says.
My mouth drops open in shock. I thought for sure she would storm out of here, mumbling something about how I’ve ruined her life.
“Zara and I met at the video shoot, not any time before that. You know I wouldn’t lie to you, Stormy. I know that things are movin' fast for everyone, but if I wasn’t sure about Zara, I wouldn’t have you and your sister here right now.”
Stormy smiles as she looks from Zara to me. It’s the first genuine smile I have seen on her face since before her mother passed away. I’m not going to take it for granted either because I know women. . . well, at least the Austin ones, and their attitudes can switch on the fly.
I pull Stormy into my arms and kiss the top of her head before scooping up a handful of dish soap bubbles and blowing them on her. She squeals and proceeds to do the same, but doesn’t throw them at me, but at Zara. It’s from that point that the first annual Austin/Phillips bubble war starts.
zara
Twenty-Seven
It’s been just over two weeks since Levi brought the girls back, and while most everything is good, there are times when Stormy and Levi butt heads. I imagine that this is normal for dads and teenage daughters. Willow, though, is probably the coolest kid I have ever come across. If I’m outside reading, she sits next to me and reads. If she wants to go swimming, she asks me. Not Levi or her sister. If I’m cooking, she puts on an apron and helps. I always thought that Van and I would have kids, and being with Willow has solidified my need to be a mother.
When the girls first arrived, Levi and I discussed our sleeping arrangements. They were home, and he didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. The wrong idea is that it’s okay to start sharing a bed with someone that you just met. It definitely wasn’t how I was raised. I had only spent two glorious nights in his bed, and yet I was comfortable there. I understood where he was coming from, even if I craved him every moment of the day. When we could be together and give in to desire, we were off the charts hot.