Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“What should I wear?” I ask him. He hasn’t told me anything about the date. Not one clue, not one mention, nothing. I think both of us are more focused on getting each other naked.
He comes closer to whisper in my ear, “I want you to wear nothing.” His breath is hot on my ear, and he comes out and nips it, making me shudder with goose bumps. “See you later.”
I nod and then see him walk out the back door and go to the side gate that now connects our yard. “Go upstairs and clean up. I’m going to come up and pack a bag,” I tell Aiden, and he runs upstairs.
“I want to be Iron Man today,” he says, and I close my eyes. I clean up the kitchen from breakfast and walk upstairs to pack him a bag, and when I leave, I see a white van pull up, and I wonder what he’s doing. When I get to my parents’, I walk in with Aiden shouting that he’s there.
My father is sitting at the table reading the paper, and he spots Aiden and puts down the paper right before Aiden jumps in his lap. “Grandpa,” he says, cuddling into him. My father kisses his head. “I met my nonno yesterday,” he tells him, his eyes all wide. “That means grandfather in Italian.”
“Does it?” My father acts surprised.
“And my nonna,” he says of Luca’s mom, and he leans in and whispers, “She made me cookies.”
“Did you bring me any?” my father whispers back.
“I did,” he says, getting off his lap and rushing over to me to grab the bag of cookies we brought. He walks back and gets into the chair right next to my father. My mother is now walking into the room.
“Good morning,” she says to me, hugging me, and then walking over to the table and kissing Aiden. “What is all this?”
“My nonna made it for me,” Aiden says, opening the containers. “This is my favorite,” he says of the chocolate chip. My mother grabs a piece and groans.
“Where did she buy this from?” she asks me, opening the other containers and taking out the oatmeal raisin ones. “They melt in your mouth.”
“Wait until you try the lemon drop ones,” I tell her of the traditionally Italian cookies with lemon icing on it. She breaks it off, popping a piece in her mouth, and her eyes go wide. “That is what I said.”
“I need the name of this bakery,” my mother says, and I shake my head.
“She made them all from scratch,” I tell her, and my mother sits down. “I have about four more dozen at home.”
“So how was yesterday?” my mother asks me, and I walk over to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle.
“It was amazing. The food was amazing, and they were friendly and made sure that we were comfortable,” I tell them. “They would like for you guys to go over there on Friday when we have a big family dinner.”
“Is she going to be baking?” my mother asks.
“She made fresh pasta,” I tell my mother. “Fresh noodles, they melted in your mouth.”
“We are free,” my mother says, looking at my father who shrugs. Aiden gets up and walks over to his bag, grabbing his iPad. “Are you going to watch television?” my mother asks Aiden when he walks out of the room. I am about to get up and go turn on the television when my mother gets up before me.
“So,” my father says, waiting until my mother is out of the room, “I got your email yesterday.” I nod at him. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“Is that you approving of Luca?” I ask him, and he smiles.
“I am going to be honest. When you told me you were pregnant and didn’t know who the father was, I was angry and sad, knowing how much you would have to give up because of this.”
“Dad,” I start to say, and he raises his hand.
“Let me finish,” he continues, “but having my grandson is something I am never, ever going to regret or hold a grudge over. Also, I will have you know that Luca paid me for the house, and he has set up a trust for Aiden.” I look at him, shocked. “He has also asked me to give him a figure to pay you back for six years.”
I get angry. “I’m going to kill him.”
“He is stepping up to his responsibilities, and I am going to say I would be doing the same.” He shrugs. “You’ve taken care of Aiden all by yourself, and now you have Luca, so let him.”
“I don’t want his money,” I tell him. “You are my lawyer. You tell him I want nothing.”
“Well,” my father starts, “I did, and he just shrugged and put it in Aiden’s trust.” He looks down. “Honey, let him.”