Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65239 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I know she’ll get a kick out of the larger-than-life billboard of the underwear model.
“That’s the company I’m going to be working for.” I point at the billboard. “Wells is my new employer.”
“Do you think there’s a sock in there, or is it all him?”
My head snaps to the right to catch sight of my sister’s face. She’s smiling as she stares up at the billboard.
“What did you just say?” I ask her, trying to suppress a laugh.
Naomi shoots me a look. “I asked if you think that underwear model has a sock in those boxer briefs or if that bulge is one hundred percent all him?”
I point at the stroller right in front of her. Her hands are resting on the handle. The plain gold band circling her ring finger seems brighter in the late afternoon sun. “Tabitha is right there. Do you want her to go home and tell Harlan that you’re drooling over some random model’s package?”
She leans closer to me. “It’s his dick, Callie. It’s not hard to say.”
She follows that up with a high-pitched giggle.
Shaking my head, I peek at her three-year-old daughter, who is thankfully fast asleep with her head resting on the soft blanket in the stroller.
“That was a penis pun,” Naomi points out. “I thought it was a great one. Hard. Dick. Get it?”
I sigh.
“Oh, wait.” She levels a finger in my face. “You haven’t gotten any in months, have you? When’s the last time you have sex, Calliope?”
“As if I’m going to tell you.” I smile. “You don’t need to know when I have sex, and I don’t want to know when you do.”
“It’s pretty obvious that I’m getting some.” She squeezes the handle of the stroller. “I have two kids already, and this one on the way means Harlan is still delivering in the bedroom.”
I glance at her swollen belly under the pink sundress she’s wearing. “You’re five months along now, right?”
She slides a hand over her stomach. “Give or take.”
Looking into her blue eyes, I smile. “That baby is lucky to have you as a mom.”
“I know it,” she says with a curt nod. “I am killing it as a mom if I do say so myself.”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, I laugh. “I say so too.”
Her gaze wanders back to the billboard that showcases a man’s ripped torso and a pair of white boxer briefs. “What do you think his face looks like? I lucked out when I married Harlan because he’s as beautiful as he is built.”
I turn my attention to the billboard. The model posing with his hands on his hips has abs for days. He may look like utter perfection, but I’d guess a hell of a lot of airbrushing went into creating that image. “Who knows? Maybe what we’re looking at is all he has going for him.”
“Doubtful,” she blurts. “Since you’ll be working there, you’re bound to meet him, right? Take a selfie with him so I can put a face to all of that.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I don’t think I’ll meet him. I have a junior position in their marketing department, Naomi. I doubt I get direct access to models.”
“You’ll make it happen,” she says with confidence edging her tone. “If I didn’t love being at home with my kids so much, I’d be envious of you and your new job.”
I glance at the stroller. “You have the best job in the world.”
“I really do,” she agrees with a smile. “I’m starving. Do you have time for an early dinner? It’s my treat. Harlan is taking Bodhi to baseball practice, so it’s boy’s night. They’ll grab some pizza on the way home. You know how much Bodhi loves pizza.”
I do know. My seven-year-old nephew can eat half a cheese pie by himself.
I look down at the white blouse and denim cut-off shorts I’m wearing. Wherever we go, it’s going to have to be casual.
“Let’s go to Lise,” she suggests. “They have that salmon quiche there that the baby adores.”
She’s the one who adores it, but I’m in. I’m not picky when it comes to food, and the bistro she loves has excellent food and service.
Naomi steals one last glance at the billboard. “Goodbye, Callie’s future husband.”
I bark out a laugh. “Never in a million years.”
“Never say never,” she tosses her favorite quote at me. “You can’t predict what the future holds.”
I smile as I hear Tabitha stirring in the stroller. “I can predict that you will have a very hungry little girl on your hands in the next ten seconds. Let’s get to Lise.”
Chapter Six
Callie
I glance at the clock on my nightstand before I scream into my pillow.
It’s ten minutes to two.
In the freaking morning.
I’m due to start my new job at Wells in just seven hours.
I haven’t got a wink of sleep yet because my neighbor has been partying hard since nine o’clock. I was hopeful that it would quiet down as it usually does at around midnight, but the volume ticked up then.