Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
His eyes go from us to our hands. “Oh, good, you stayed,” he says sarcastically. “Great.”
“Come and get something to eat.” She pulls me to the kitchen and hands me a plate.
“Thank you,” I reply, grabbing the plate as I pile food onto it. I’m so nervous I have no idea what I’m putting on it, only I need to keep my hands busy.
When Sofia sees me look at her, she points over at the stools. “Go sit.” I nod at her and walk over to the seats and look back at her.
“Where are you sitting?” I ask, knowing I am going to stake my claim as my uncle Matthew says, and the minute I think that, I know I’m going down a one-way street the wrong way.
“At the end,” she says and I pull out the stool next to the end. She comes over and places her plate down next to me, followed by Casey, who pulls out the seat facing us.
“What do you do, Matthew?” he asks, and I remember my uncle telling me about him, so I know he knows exactly what I do.
“I play hockey,” I reply, cutting a piece of chicken fried steak.
“How did you and Sofia meet?” he asks, and again, I know he knows.
“We dated a couple of years ago.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he says like a light bulb just went off in his head, but I know better. “And you dumped her.”
“We broke up.” I swallow down the bile. “Yes.”
“Pops,” Sofia says between clenched teeth, “can we not do this?”
“Fine,” he grunts, and sadly, I know he’s not finished with me. “So how did you two get back to talking?”
I want to groan and hit my head on the island in front of me, but I made my bed and now I have to lie in it, even if I don’t want to. I’m about to lay it all out for him. “We met in town,” Sofia interjects, “ran into each other one night.”
I look over at her, and she just looks at her grandfather. “Next question.”
“Are you two dating?” he asks.
I pfft out, “Absolutely.”
At the same time, Sofia says, “Not really.”
“That’s interesting,” he says, smirking at me, as I turn to glare at Sofia, who doesn’t look back at me.
“So you spent the night,” Casey states, right before he slides a piece of chicken fried steak into his mouth.
I look at him, never once looking away, because then I would be guilty of something. “Oh my God,” Sofia retorts, “you did not just ask him that.”
“Did he or did he not come here last night and leave this morning?” Casey tilts his head to the side.
“Pops,” Sofia hisses out, “you said you would mind your business.”
“Listen, it’s not my fault you have a Ring camera.” He holds up his hands. “And I get reports of who comes and goes.” He smiles at Sofia and then turns his eyes to me.
I look over at Sofia and smirk. “I did,” I tell him. “She’s here, so I’m going to be spending time wherever she is.”
“Is that so?” He leans back in his chair.
“It is.” I mimic his move, trying not to let him see how fucking nervous I am. “How long will you be in town?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he evades. “Haven’t decided.”
Sofia laughs at him. “He’s leaving after dinner.”
“That’s too bad,” I tell him, and he just stares at me.
“And why is that?” He sits up straight, his finger tapping the counter in front of him.
“My family is coming down on Saturday for my hockey game, and Sofia will be coming to meet them.” I put my arm on her chair. “If you were here, I would love for you to meet them.”
He looks at me, the two of us almost as if we are playing chess. Except I don’t know how to play chess, but something says he does, and he usually wins. “Count us in,” he declares, looking at Sofia. “I’ll be back Saturday with the parents.” He pushes away from the island. “I’ll call you later,” he tells Sofia and kisses her cheek, nodding at me. “See you Saturday.”
He turns to walk out of the house, and only when the door slams shut does Sofia turn her glare to me. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Done what?” I ask, feigning innocence. “I just invited him to a game.”
She shakes her head. “You have no idea what you just did.” She closes her eyes. “He’s going to bring my parents.”
“Good,” I reply, cutting another piece of meat. “Our parents can finally meet.”
“This is a nightmare,” she huffs. “It’s going to be a nightmare.”
I laugh. “What’s the worst that can happen?” Even with the words out of my mouth, I know I don’t even want to answer that question. All I know is that push came to shove and I had to show her I meant business.