Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“It’s pretty big, huh?” Grace giggles. “But it’s just MeeMaw H’s and PawPaw H’s house. There’s a pool, a pool table, and a movie room too.”
“Well, silly me, I forgot my swimsuit… considering it's November,” Riley jokes dryly.
“Oh, the pool’s heated. We can swim year-round,” Grace corrects, not catching the sarcasm at all. To her, this really is just her grandparents’ home, nothing unusual about it in the slightest.
As I park, I turn my head toward Riley. Her gaze is still drawn to the massive display of ridiculous wealth in front of her. There are so many questions visible on her face, and I move to reassure her. “You already met my mom and all the women in my family, plus Cole, who’s the hardest to win over. It’ll be fine.”
I hope I’m right. My other brothers aren’t exactly walks in the park, but Cole is definitely the least civilized of us all, and having him on Riley’s side—plus me, obviously—will serve her well if anyone tries to give her a hard time.
I shouldn’t worry, though, because Riley has the biggest cheerleader of all on her side. Grace. My daughter grabs Riley’s hand as soon as they’re out of the car and very nearly drags her to the front door. She doesn’t bother knocking but rather swings the door open wide and announces, “MeeMaw! We’re here!”
No matter how many zeroes are in our combined bank accounts, at the end of the day, we’re just family, and at Grace’s shout, everyone comes hustling into the foyer to meet the newcomer who’s sent me reeling. Luckily, it’s Mom at the front of the pack, probably because no one is willing to risk running her over.
“Riley, dear… I’m so glad you came,” Mom tells her warmly while simultaneously wrapping her in a hug.
“Thank you for having me,” Riley replies. “Your home is so…”
“Gaudy,” Kyle suggests loud enough for everyone to hear.
Riley flinches and rushes to finish her sentence. “I was going to say lovely.”
Mom pats her hand with an easy smile. “Ignore him. In fact, ignore all of the boys. They’ve been riled up since Cam said he was bringing you. I’m afraid he’s got some reaping of what he’s sown coming.” Mom flashes me a quick look of warning before returning to her hostess duties, taking Riley’s coat. “Cameron, would you like to do the honors?” she prompts me, making me feel like I’m a stupid teenager again who needs coaching on the basic rules of civilized society.
“Riley, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Riley. Kyle, fuck off.” He laughs so at least she knows which one he is. But to be sure, I point him out and stage-whisper to Riley, “Stay away from him. He’s not a hellion anymore, but he’s still a troublemaker.”
Everyone laughs at the good-natured taunt of my brother who has long been the black sheep of the family. He’s really grown a lot in the last few years—especially since he met Dani—and I feel like we’re only just now getting to know the adult version of who he is. That’s not to say he’s all good-guy now. He’s still rough, tough, and will fuck your shit up verbally or physically if he feels it’s warranted, but I wouldn’t want him to be any other way than exactly who and how he is.
“Just how you love me,” he replies, making smoochy kissing noises at me. To fuck with him, I blow him a kiss back, and I swear the look of gobsmacked shock on his face is worth the uncharacteristic move on my part. “Did you see that? I think Cam actually likes me. It’s a miracle!”
The display did just what I hoped it’d do, and honestly, probably what Kyle was slyly trying to do from the start, anyway—take the attention off Riley so she doesn’t get overwhelmed at the entirety of the Harrington family swarming her.
When I texted Mom that I would have a plus-one, I also sent a message to our sibling group chat, telling them the same thing. There were some pointed questions that I deftly sidestepped, but ultimately, I told my siblings that Riley and I are figuring things out before we talk to Grace so they needed to act cool. That means the rest of my brothers will probably peer at Riley like she’s a specimen under a microscope, but Kyle is a bit more proactive than that and I have no doubt that he’s backing me up in his own weird, twisted way, so I give him a head nod of acknowledgement, which he answers with a cocky smirk like he didn’t do anything. But he did, and I appreciate it.
“Are you going to stay in the foyer or come sit back down?” a rattly voice calls from the formal living room.
Grace reacts first. “Chuckie!” she shouts, dodging and weaving her way through the rest of the family to get into the living room to see her great-grandfather.