Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
My little girl is growing up too damn fast and is becoming way too perceptive. My hope was to get home before she woke up, but when I sat down on Celeste’s bed to watch over her, I ended up passing out. I woke up to my phone going off with a text from Quinn, letting me know Skyla was up and asking questions. After leaving a bottle of water and two Advil on Celeste’s nightstand, I left her sleeping to come home. Since the day Skyla became mine, I’ve done everything in my power to provide a stable home for her, and that includes being home every morning when she wakes up and being the one to put her to bed every night. At thirteen years old, she technically doesn’t need me to tuck her in, but I still want to be there.
“No, I wasn’t out on a date. A friend of mine wasn’t feeling well, so I was taking care of her,” I tell her, trying not to lie too badly. Quinn comes from around the corner and gives me a curious look but doesn’t say anything.
“If you’re good, I’m going to head out,” Quinn says. “Sky, your pancakes are ready.” She shoots my daughter a wink, and Skyla heads straight to the kitchen to eat her breakfast, leaving Quinn and me alone.
“Jax already told me you took Celeste home,” Quinn says, judgment evident in her tone. I love my sister to death, but she’s as protective as they come. It doesn’t matter that Jax and I are older than she is. “It’s been what…ten years since she left you, Jase?”
“Eleven,” I murmur, then flinch at the fact that I know exactly how long it’s been. “I was just making sure a woman who drank too much got home safe,” I say nonchalantly, but even to my own ears, I sound like I’m full of shit. “How did everything go here?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Good. We hung out and watched a movie. Skyla insisted we watch Pirates of the Caribbean, so…” She shrugs a shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I laugh. “More like, you begged, and my daughter took pity on you.” Quinn is obsessed with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The woman has probably watched all of them a hundred times. She even has a tattoo of Jack Sparrow on her thigh. And since I’m the one who did it, I can tell you it looks damn good.
“Semantics.” She rolls her eyes playfully, knowing it drives me nuts. Especially since my daughter does the same thing, having had picked up on it from her aunt years ago.
“I need to get home. Rick flew in this morning, and I want to make him breakfast.” She winks, then grabs her purse off the couch as I playfully gag at her insinuation of what she really wants to do with him. Rick is her boyfriend of about six months. I’m not happy with how fast things are moving with them, but my sister is a big girl, and I have to let her make her own mistakes.
When we first moved to New York, Quinn, Jax, and I all lived together in a small apartment. But once the shop started to make decent money, we moved into a bigger home in Cobble Hill—a smaller, less busy neighborhood in Brooklyn. While Jax still lives here with Skyla and me, a few months ago, Quinn and her boyfriend decided to get their own place—an expensive high-rise condo in the Upper East Side. He’s some type of corporate mogul who owns several businesses all over the world. It seems like he’s gone more than he’s home, but Quinn doesn’t ever complain, so I keep my opinions to myself. Plus, while he’s traveling, Quinn will often spend the night here with us, so that works out well for me, and Skyla loves spending time with her Aunt.
“Dad, your pancakes are getting cold,” Skyla yells.
“Be right there!” I shout back. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her,” I tell my sister.
“Any time…Oh!”—she stops in her place and turns around—“Rick has to fly out next weekend for a last minute business deal, so he won’t be able to attend the wedding with me after all.” She frowns. “Would you mind if I tagged along with you?”
Olivia and Nick’s wedding is at the Yacht Club in the Hamptons, and since they both insisted Skyla was more than welcome to join, I thought it would be a nice weekend getaway. It’s the summer in New York, and the place we’re staying at has a nice pool that Skyla will love to swim in.
“Of course. Jax is leaving Gage to run the place, so we can all drive over together.” Gage is one of the tattooists that works for us. When the shop took off, Jax and I couldn’t handle the place on our own any longer, so we hired two other artists—Gage and Willow. Quinn has also been helping us out while we look for a fulltime receptionist. She’s building up her photography business, which means she’s able to make her own hours.