Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I walked inside in a daze, running my hands over the dressers, then the crib, finally dropping onto the end of the bed.
“I figured the girls will probably still sleep with you for a while,” Titus said quietly, leaning against the doorframe. “So I made sure to get you a king so you’d have the space.”
“You didn’t have to do all this,” I rasped, the tears that had been pressing at the backs of my eyes finally making their appearance.
It was like a dream. A movie. If this was what second-hand looked like, I wasn’t sure what kind of hand-me-downs I’d been getting. I ran my fingers over the stitching on the quilt. It was a beautiful geometric pattern in every color of the rainbow.
“My great-great-gram made it,” Titus murmured, nodding to the quilt.
“Really?”
“Our family has a bunch of them,” he confirmed.
“I don’t know what to say,” I breathed, overwhelmed.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d want the changin’ table in here or in the girls’ room,” he murmured, glancing over his shoulder. “But since Diana’s still in diapers—”
“It’s perfect,” I cut him off. I seemed to be doing that a lot, but I couldn’t stand the nervous way he was rambling. He’d done so much. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous and clean and well thought out our rooms were. Why in the world was he nervous?
“You wanna see the rest?”
“There’s more?” I asked in disbelief.
Titus just laughed and put his hand out. He led me through my bedroom door and pointed to the new knob he’d installed, pulling a couple of keys out of his pocket.
“I’d put one on your keychain,” he said, handing them to me. “And stash the other one, just in case your keys get locked in the room.”
“You take one,” I replied, handing back one of the keys, thoughts of the girls locking themselves in the rooms playing like a nightmare in my head. Maybe I hadn’t thought the whole locked-door thing through.
“You sure?”
I nodded.
He led me down the hallway and up two stairs to the door there and opened the door. “This is my room, it’s not nearly as nice as yours,” he joked, gesturing so I would look inside. “Mick is the one who’s good at all that decorating shit. If my bed’s comfortable and I’ve got some place to put my clothes then I’m set.”
He said that, and yet, his room was great. His furniture was a dark wood that all matched, and he had a gray comforter on his bed that looked new. Everything was clean and tidy and seemed well taken care of.
“I’ve got my own bathroom through there,” he said, pointing. “And it’s got a big tub. So, if you ever want to use it, feel free.”
I stared at him.
“Offer’s open,” he said with a shrug.
I was highly aware that he was still holding my hand as he led me back down the hallway, but it felt oddly natural as he pointed out Bas’s bedroom and then Cian’s, leaving their doors shut. When we got back downstairs, the house was surprisingly quiet, and we followed the sound of voices until we reached the kitchen.
Heather, Otto, Bas, and Cian stood around the island while Diana and Ariel ate little orange crackers.
“You might need to get one of those hanging high chair things like we’ve got,” Heather announced, standing next to where Diana perched on a stool. “This one wants to sit at the island like a big girl.”
“We got so many snacks,” Ariel told me excitedly, leaning around Heather. Bas quickly stepped forward, making sure she didn’t fall off her stool.
“Did you say thank you?” I asked, finally letting go of Titus’s hand as I moved farther into the room. My palm tingled.
“Yeah.”
“Did everyone take off?” Titus asked his mom. “I didn’t have a chance to say thank you.”
“You said it enough while they were here,” she replied dryly. “Send out a group text if you want.”
“Gran said I got my own room,” Ariel said, bouncing a little in her seat.
“You’re sharing with Diana,” Heather clarified. “Remember?”
“You wanna see it?” Titus asked, grinning.
Squeals of delight were punctured with Diana’s orders of “Down!” as Titus rounded them up and led them toward the stairs.
“You comin’?” he called.
I turned to follow them and then thought better of it. While I wanted to see the girls’ excitement about their beautiful room, I also had this weird urge to let Titus show them alone. He had done that for them. He’d gotten them bedding in their favorite colors. He deserved that moment.
“No, go ahead,” I croaked.
Their voices grew quieter as he helped them up the stairs.
“Okay?” Otto asked, watching me intently.
“Did you see the rooms?” I asked, moving closer as the rest of the group started talking about other things.
“No, but my mom said Titus set ’em up real nice.”