Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I turn sideways and put my feet up on the couch, resting my back against the arm to get a little separation between our bodies. Sterling slides his arm around my back and pulls me close with one hand while the other taps at the screen of his phone.
The plan is shot all to hell.
“Here we go,” he says. I don’t have to look at him to hear the smile in his voice.
He hands me his phone, and I take my time looking at all of the pictures. “Aww, look at you holding her. She looks so tiny in your arms.”
“I know. I remember Blake being that small once too. She’s cute as hell, huh?” he says, not really needing an answer, but I give him one anyway.
“Very. I can’t wait to snuggle her.”
I’m zooming in on one of the baby, Remi, with a pink hat with her name on it when I feel his hand slide beneath my T-shirt. I thought I wasn’t that good of an actress, but I deserve an Emmy for ignoring the feel of the rough pad of his thumb as it rubs circles against my skin. My plan is to act like it’s not happening.
Pretending is the lesser evil. What if he’s just being casual, and I turn to kiss him, and he pushes me away? Yeah, avoidance is my plan.
He’s driving me wild with his touch, and I don’t know how much longer I can pretend he’s not. Thankfully, the timer sounds on the oven, and I drop his phone like it’s on fire and scramble off his lap, rushing to the kitchen to pull the baked spaghetti out of the oven.
Carefully, I pull back the foil, and the cheese is nice and gooey and melted. I should have made two pans. It’s making me hungry.
“Damn, that smells good. We should have that for dinner,” Sterling says from behind me.
“Are we hanging out tonight?” I ask him.
“Don’t we always?” he asks. I’m not looking at him, so I can’t really know for sure, but he sounds offended that I’d think otherwise.
“We do. We just hadn’t made any definite plans.”
“How about this? Always assume that whatever is going on, you’re going to be doing it with me.” There’s something in his tone. He sounds hurt and something else I can’t name.
I glance over at him. “I can do that,” I say gently. From the look on his face, that something else is anger. However, my words seem to soothe the bear inside him, and he gives me a slight nod and a hint of a smile at my acceptance.
“What can I do?”
“I just need to pack everything up. I’m not making garlic bread. I grabbed a box of garlic toast. They can just pop what they need in the toaster while they’re heating up their food.” I reach into the freezer, grab the box, and place it on the counter.
I’m on my way to the pantry to gather everything else I bought to go with it when he says, “This is really nice of you, Tink. Let me know what I owe you, and I’ll pay you back.”
I stop, turning to look at him. “You don’t owe me anything. I signed up for this. I wanted to help them. I can only imagine how tired they are with a new baby and adjusting to being parents.”
He nods. “I’m damn lucky to have you in my life, Alyssa,” he says.
I feel a lump start to form in my throat. “I’m the lucky one, Sterling. Your family has always treated me like I belong. As an only child, I never would have been able to witness what a big, loud, boisterous family is like otherwise. They’ve accepted that I’m one of you.”
“You are family.” His voice is thick.
I nod and turn back to the task at hand. I need to change the conversation, or I’m going to do something we both might regret. That’s the issue. I don’t know if he would regret it or not. I know everything there is to know about Sterling Kincaid. Our lives are so intertwined it’s hard to tell what’s my memory and what’s his. However, for the first time in my life, I can’t read him. I can’t anticipate his actions or response, and that has my stomach in knots.
I grab everything else I need and head back to the small island in my kitchen with my arms full.
“What’s all of that?” Sterling asks, rushing to help me unload.
“Hot sauce, parmesan cheese, soft batch cookies, Milano cookies, Twizzlers, and Skittles.”
He chuckles. “You went overboard, Tink. Please let me pay you for all of this.”
“Nope. I wanted to do this. The extras are just in case they need a sugar rush to stay up. I know they have to be sleep-deprived.”