Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Caroline.”
I froze at the edge of the curb. It was Sunday. That dread exploded into a full-on alarm blaring in my head. “Where’s Juniper?”
“Look. I know you’ll be pissed, but she asked me to help, and I didn’t want to tell her no. You’re not the only one capable of showing up for her. And I’ve never forgotten to pick her up. Not once in five months, but this situation’s kind of out of my control. I won’t make it in time, and I don’t want her sitting there waiting, you know?”
“Where is she?” I jogged around my truck and threw open the driver’s side door.
“You have to promise you won’t tell Caroline.” He sighed. “It’s not like I was doing anything worse than what you are with Allie.”
“Gavin, where the fuck is our niece?” I climbed into the truck and pushed the start button, then dropped the fob into the cup holder.
“She’s in Cedarville. If you leave now, you might get there before she’s done. I’m texting you the address.”
My phone buzzed with a text message and I quickly opened it. I stared at the name of the place for two seconds before putting it into my GPS. Then I lifted the phone back to my ear. “You’re not going to have to worry about Caroline—”
“Thank you—”
“Because I’m going to kill you myself.” I hung up.
Nineteen minutes and four broken traffic laws later, I pulled into the only empty parking spot in front of the strip mall and killed the engine. There were still nine minutes left of her class when I walked into the ballet studio.
That irresponsible asshat.
How fucking dare he compare what I was doing with Allie to what he’d been hiding for the last five months? I waded into a sea of waiting parents, most of whom were seated in front of the glass that partitioned the waiting area from the studio, and cut through the ones who stood along the back, carrying on conversations.
I glanced over the full front row of seats, then stared as the woman on the left, closest to the wall, tilted her head slightly and revealed the face beneath the black baseball cap. Allie?
What in the actual fuck was happening?
I made my way to the wall, then maneuvered myself up the narrow aisle along its edge, dodging purses and cups of coffee until I reached the front, where Allie sat. The brim of her hat had been tugged down low, and she’d covered most of her hands with the oversize sleeves of her dark sweatshirt, which she held clasped in front of her mouth.
She looked pissed.
“I’ll take it from that look, you don’t approve either?” I asked.
Her face whipped my direction, her gaze pinning me to the wall before she turned it back on the class. “Get down, or she’ll see you.”
“I kind of hope she does,” I admitted, folding my arms across my chest. “At least then she’ll have an inkling of how much trouble she’s in.”
“Well, I’m observing the class, and I don’t want her to see me,” she retorted. “So get down.”
Okay then. I crouched, jostling Allie’s chair with my shoulders as I crammed my body into a space fit for a toddler. The scent of Allie’s perfume hit me like a shot of perfect tequila, and I breathed deep, more than ready to be drunk. At least there was one positive to come from this morning. “When did you find out?”
“I saw her bag in Gavin’s car at the beach and figured the rest out about five days ago, but wanted to be sure before I told you,” she said, bracing her elbows on her knees and leaning forward. “What about you?”
“Gavin called about twenty minutes ago and let me know he wouldn’t be able to pick her up.” My jaw flexed. “So I’m still processing.” I surveyed the class of what looked to be about two dozen girls and spotted Juniper in the front row. “Is she in pointe shoes?”
“Yep.” Allie bit out the word, her gaze shifting to the clock above my head. “For all of another seven minutes, she is.”
“I can’t believe he went behind my back,” I muttered.
“I can’t believe she did.” Her huff reeked of sarcasm. “What am I saying, of course I believe she did. Look at what she has us doing.”
“True.” I glanced at my watch. Six minutes left and I needed to make the most of them. “I got my tux today.”
“Oh.” She looked back at me, then jerked her face forward again. “Thank you.”
“Did you want to stay the weekend in New York?”
“You don’t have to. I have a couple of appointments on Friday afternoon, so as long as you’re there by Saturday evening, we should be good.” She tugged her sleeve over the heel of her hand when it slipped.