Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Barrett cleared his throat, and Tyler gaped at me. “Ray, did you and Hale get busy in the woods?”
“No,” I lied. “Not according to Clinton’s definition.” I scowled at Xander.
“Come on, Barrett, I’ll get you that suit jacket,” Hale said, leaving us there with intrusive Xander. I had never met a man with worse timing.
“So, where are you from, Xander?”
“Brookline, Massachusetts.”
Tyler raised a brow. “Where the Kennedys are from?”
Xander grinned, impressed by Ty’s trivial recall. “Correct. Not a lot of people know that.”
“I went through a minor obsession with the Kennedys.”
He laughed. “Then you’ll get a kick out of this. My great grandparents came from Wexford.”
“No way!” When I looked at Tyler confused, he explained, “JFK’s paternal lineage comes from Wexford, Ireland.”
This was why I had a hard time imagining him dating a woman. What straight man knew stuff like that?
“As a matter of fact,” Xander continued, “my mom’s parents and the eldest Kennedys used to play bridge together.”
I frowned. “I thought you didn’t have family.”
“I don’t.” He glanced at Tyler. “We had a falling out several years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Xander waved away his apology as he lowered to sit on the arm of the loveseat, making himself right at home. “Don’t be. I’m not.”
Hale and Barrett returned, suit jacket in hand. “What did you guys end up watching?” Hale asked.
“Nothing. We just talked and ate.”
Hale glanced at Tyler. “Did she give you her list of baby names?”
“You have names?” Tyler’s face beamed with curiosity—not the straightest response to possible baby names, but whatever. “Spill!”
I tucked my feet under my legs and cradled the basket of fries. “Nothing’s set in stone yet. But for a boy, I like River or Quest, and for a girl, I like Sage or Harlow.”
He looked back at Hale. “I’m scared.”
I shoved him. “Why are you scared, dork?”
“Because those are names that you’d typically make fun of.”
“I would not.”
He looked at Barrett. “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
“McKinsley. And she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Yeah, okay,” I mumbled.
Tyler held up a silencing finger. “Did Ray make fun of her name?”
“What’s your point?” I snapped.
“My point is, those names are a little more new age than I expected. But I really like Sage.”
“It’s cute, right?”
“Very.”
“Do you have kids, Tyler?” Xander’s question caught me off guard, but didn’t surprise me. I often caught him staring at my stomach. Maybe procreation confused him.
“Me? God, no.” Tyler laughed and I frowned at his look of repulsion.
“But you like kids.”
“I like your kid. I can handle kids in small increments, but I’m not interested in long term investments.”
“Charming. And to think I was going to ask you to be godfather.”
“Hey!” Barret objected. “I’m the godfather.”
“You’re already an uncle and Elara’s godfather.”
“So? I can be both.”
A horn beeped, and Xander looked out the window. “Your girl’s here.”
“Shit.” Barrett slipped into Hale’s jacket. “See you guys later.” He pointed at me and Tyler. “I’m the godfather.”
When I looked back at Tyler, I shook my head.
Hale dropped onto the cushion beside me and stole a fry from the basket in my lap. “Let’s put something on. Xander, you want some fries?”
What was he doing? Those were my fries and this was mine and Tyler’s night. There was no Xander space here.
“Sure.” He slid fully onto the loveseat and took my fries. He just took the whole basket as if he paid for them.
Hale looped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer as I stared in stunned silence.
When he adjusted the blanket, I asked, “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Hale finally read the confusion on my face. “Sure.”
I handed Tyler the remote. “Put something on.” Hale followed me into the kitchen, and I turned on him the moment we were alone. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re crashing my couch time with Tyler.”
“Is that a problem?”
“For you, no. For Xander, yes.”
“Rayne, he’s not that bad.”
“Hale, he’s been hitting on me since the moment I met him.” Hale usually had a jealous temper, but this guy kept evading his radar. I didn’t get it. “You didn’t even say anything when he claimed to hear us having sex earlier!”
He laughed. “He was teasing you.”
“He’s flirting!”
“No, he’s not.”
I scoffed. “You should hear the shit he says when you’re not around.”
“What’s he saying?”
I scoffed again. “You know…. Rayne….and… See you tomorrow…”
“I’ll fucking kill him,” he said sarcastically.
“You don’t get it! It’s the way he says things!”
“With words?”
“Oh, forget it. And, B-T-dubs, he didn’t just hear us fooling around today. He also watched us kissing on Thanksgiving.”
“The nerve!” He laughed. “Did you ever consider he might just be envious, Rayne? We’re happy, and he’s single. There’s nothing wrong with looking when you see a happy couple.”
“I’m telling you, Hale, something’s different about him.”
“You’re absolutely right, but I’m one hundred percent certain he’s not hitting on you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because you know and see all?”