Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“I love how you wrapped the top part to come together.” It’s not only a bridge, it's a piece of art too.
“Thanks.” He turns his monitor back and shuffles some of the papers on his desk around. That’s when I see a business card with a name on it I know, and I snatch it up.
Reins.
“You know Mom used that company, right? It’s a detective agency that finds dirt on people.” I overheard her a few times on the phone with them. Okay, I might have been eavesdropping.
“I know what they do.” He tries to take the card from me, but I pull it back. “Sweetheart, don’t worry about it. Everything is fine.” I let him take the card back and watch as he puts it in his desk.
It’s not like he would tell me if things weren't fine. I wonder what the Reinses think they have on my father. Is that why the divorce is taking so long? Maybe my mother has got something she’s holding over his head.
“Are you going to stay at the condo? I don’t want you spending spring break at an empty dorm.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna hang around.”
“Maybe I could move my trip.”
“No! I’ll be fine.” I use the word against him. “In a few months, I’ll be out of school completely, and you’ll be stuck with me until I can find a job.”
“You have a trust, Sadie.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to be stuck with me?” I tease.
“Never. You’re always welcome home.” He kisses the top of my head. “I just don’t want you sticking around because you think you have to take care of me.”
From the smile on my father’s face, I know he’s smitten with Olivia. I think she’s going to do more than take care of him, and then I immediately push those gross thoughts right out of my mind.
Seeing that card has my gears turning. Now I know how I’ll be spending my spring break. I’m going to find out what the Reinses have on my father because I’m not letting my mother ruin one more thing for him.
Chapter Two
ARI
“What do you mean you’re stuck in Seaport? You were supposed to get the photos and come back.” I unlock my car and put my phone on speaker before I back out of the garage. “Mack, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here,” he whispers into the phone. “Listen, things got complicated, okay? I’m going to be here for a few days.”
“Lawson is on his honeymoon, and now you take off. I guess I’ll just run the entire company on my own!”
Mack sighs dramatically, and I can hear his eye roll. “Or you could get the stick out of your ass and take a vacation for the first time ever.”
“You take enough vacation for the three of us.” I turn into traffic and check my watch. “There’s enough going on that one of us needs to be there.”
“There’s nothing going on that can’t wait.” There’s loud music in the background, and I have a sneaking suspicion my brother is partying.
“Are you at a strip club?”
“I thought we were talking about you taking a vacation?” He tries to change the subject.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Seriously, Ari. I checked the schedule, and I’m working our only active case. The rest of it is paperwork, and none of us need to be in the office to do that. We cleared the schedule so that Lawson could get married. Why not take advantage of it this week and do something fun? Like organizing your socks.”
“Asshole,” I murmur.
Lawson met his bride Vanna in a not-so-conventional way after he saw her in a wedding dress and then decided to do some light kidnapping. Thankfully, they both fell ass over feet in love within seconds and tied the knot as fast as they could afterwards. We’re all pretty sure Vanna is already pregnant, but I think they’re going to wait until they come home from the honeymoon before they announce it.
I’m thrilled for my brother, and I’ve never seen him like this before. There’s something about Vanna that brings out the best in him, and I love seeing both of them so content. Maybe there’s a tiny piece of me that feels like he’s moving on, but the bigger part of me recognizes that he’s truly happy for the first time. Okay, maybe if I’m being honest, that tiny piece is jealousy. Sometimes when they look at one another, I have to turn away because it feels too intimate. I never wondered what that felt like before now.
“Hey, can I get this in one-dollar bills?” I hear Mack say to someone.
“Please don’t spend all your money in a strip club. I don’t want to explain to Mom that your fortune went in someone's ass crack.”
“It’s okay, big bro, I’m hoping it’s my dick getting in someone’s ass crack.”