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)
“A wife,” she tells me. “Member? The wedding. Oh, you need me too,” she tells me. “I found Daddy and me a wife. I’m good at it.”
Kristy cracks up laughing, and even I crack a smile at that. “You’re very smart. You know that?”
“I know.”
“And modest.” Kennedy laughs.
“What’s that?” Blakely asks.
“A discussion for another day, kiddo. Why don’t you take your backpack and set up your dolls until Uncle Sterling gets here? I’ll be right there.”
“Okay, Mommy.” She skips off to my living room.
“Sorry about that,” Kennedy says. “She’s convinced all of her uncles need wives. There have been so many weddings in the family recently, she’s obsessed. And Sterling is her next victim because he caught the garter.”
“She’s fine,” I assure her. “It’s going to be entertaining to watch her tell Sterling he needs a wife. I’m sure he thinks that she’s forgotten about catching the garter at the wedding.”
“It will be funny until she decides that you’re the wife he needs.” Kristy laughs as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard, but Kennedy and I remain silent, sharing a look. Kennedy smirks at me, and I playfully roll my eyes.
“Oh, so it’s not just me?” Kristy asks, reading the situation.
“The girls and I think Alyssa and Sterling would make a good couple,” Kennedy explains.
“Of course we would,” a deep voice comes from the hallway. We all look up to see Sterling walking into the kitchen. “I mean, have you seen us?” He points at me and then at himself. “We’re hot AF.”
“AF?” Kristy asks.
“My niece is here. I’m working on cleaning up my potty mouth. We’re about to have two more Kincaid babies, and I don’t need their mommas mad at me for teaching my nieces and nephews bad words. Remi is too young to catch on, but Palmer will be pissed if a curse word is her first, and I don’t want her wrath pointed at me.”
He stops next to Kennedy and pulls her into a hug, he does the same with Kristy, and then he’s next to me. “Hey, Tink.” He pulls me into a hug as well.
Is it just me, or is his tone softer with me? “Hey. I hear you’re here to rescue Blakely.”
“Yep. I just need to unload the extra chairs out of the back of my truck. Where do you want them?”
“Seriously? You brought chairs?” He nods. “Bestest. Friend. Ever.” I give him another hug. This one is just as quick as the first but no less potent to my libido.
“Hey!” Kristy pretends to be offended.
She knows that I love her, but Sterling has been my ride-or-die since we were kids.
“Sorry, Kristy.” Sterling smirks. “It’s the guns.” He flexes his arms, and collectively the three of us roll our eyes.
“Backyard,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Tink.” He turns and walks out of the kitchen.
“Can we—” Kristy starts.
“No. No, we cannot.” I can’t be sure of what she was going to say, but my guess is it’s about Sterling, and I don’t want to get into that today.
“Yoo-hoo,” a voice calls out, and I roll my eyes.
“Um, that expression tells me we don’t like the owner of that greeting,” Kennedy whispers.
“Not a huge fan,” I confess. “We all went to school together.”
“You’re going to have to fill me in,” she replies with a whisper as Mindy comes strolling into the kitchen.
“Thanks for the invite, Alyssa,” Mindy says, even though we both know I didn’t invite her. “I just wanted to come in and say hi, but I’m going to head out back and see if Sterling needs help.” She waves and scurries past us out the back door. “Sterling, hi!” I hear her say loudly.
“She’s got a thing for our boy?” Kennedy asks.
“She always has, and she’s not selective. She’d take any of them. That’s how she is.”
“A chaser?”
“Opportunist.” I repeat my earlier words to Kristy.
“Why did you invite her?” Kennedy inquires.
“I didn’t.” I glare at Kristy.
“I’m sorry, okay. I was just excited, and she had a book in her hands at the store, and the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.”
“It’s fine.” I sigh.
“We’ll make sure none of the guys are anywhere near us the next time we meet. She’ll give up eventually.”
“Wow. Is she that bad?” Kennedy asks.
“Worse,” Kristy and I say in unison.
“I really shouldn’t have invited her.” Kristy winces as Mindy’s fake laughter reaches us inside the house.
Kennedy’s phone beeps. She pulls it out of her purse. “The gang’s all here,” she tells me.
“Great, just tell them to meet us in the backyard.”
“On it.” She walks out of the room, her fingers flying across the screen of her phone. “Blakely, your aunts are here,” she tells her daughter.
“Yay!” Blakely cheers, and I hear her little feet pound against the floor before the front door opens and closes.