Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“We might need some duct tape,” I say and Nathan and Jacob both laugh.
My mother turns and points her finger at me like she did when she found I’d eaten an entire apple pie one Easter. “No torture.”
“Are you sure? Isn’t that better than him accepting a bet from Vincent?”
She lets out a breath like she wants to kill someone. “Just don’t cause any serious damage at least.”
“Jesus, Carole,” Dad says.
Mum starts to giggle. “I’m not advocating torture. I just don’t want Dax getting into trouble that he can’t get himself out of.”
“Again,” the entire kitchen choruses.
I glance over at Ellie who’s looking between us, smiling. She meets my eye and her smile amplifies; it’s like someone is trying to yank my heart from my chest.
I weave through my family members and slide in behind her. I bend to whisper into her ear. “You okay?”
She turns to face me. “Yeah. This is…”
“Crazy?”
“Nice. And I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
The way she’s looking at me is like a ball of warmth radiating in my chest. It just makes me feel good. Being with her makes me feel good. I’m not sure when I’ve felt this good about life ever. It’s partly to do with the book, but it’s not just the book. It’s her. It feels like we’re in each other’s corner. We’re a team. We have each other’s back. That feels more intimate to me than any sex I’ve ever had.
“Hey.” Sutton comes over, grinning at us both, and gives us a joint hug. “Lovely to meet you, Ellie. I can’t wait to hear all about how not-perfect Zach is. I’m convinced he has a flaw, I just haven’t seen it. And if anyone’s going to see it, it’s his girlfriend.”
I might be imagining it, but I swear Ellie tenses at the word girlfriend. I make a mental note to make sure she’s not getting freaked out by Sutton and Madison assuming she’s basically a member of the Cove clan now. We can be an overwhelming bunch even when we’re on our best behavior. And we’re never on our best behavior.
“Zach!” Nathan waves from the other side of the kitchen and gestures out to the hall. I know he’s going to tell me to tell Mum and Dad about the book sooner rather than later, and I don’t want to hear it. But maybe I need to hear it.
I nod back to him and press a kiss to Ellie’s head. “I’m just popping out to speak to Nathan. Sutton, don’t scare her off.”
She smiles up at me and I head out.
“Have you done it yet?” Nathan asks as soon as we’re out of the kitchen.
“Shhh,” I say.
“What’s going on out here?” Jacob comes out and I shoot Nathan a fuck you look. He just shrugs as if to say, he’s going to find out anyway.
Which is true, but…
“There’s never going to be a perfect time. If you tell Jacob now, at least you’ve got us both onside when it comes to Mum and Dad.”
Jacob’s eyes widen. “You’re proposing? How long have you known Ellie?”
“I’m not proposing.” I turn down the hall. We need to go somewhere more private.
“The study,” Jacob suggests. Just the place to tell Jacob I hate medicine—the place that documents every career high of two of the most successful medics in the UK.
“The snug,” I growl.
Nathan comes in last and shuts the door behind him.
“She’s pregnant?” Jacob guesses.
Nathan sighs. “Zach hates medicine, wants to write detective novels and is about to sign a huge book deal.”
Fucking Nathan.
Jacob starts laughing. “What?” He looks at me. “What?”
I shrug. “I would have said it slightly differently, but those are the highlights.”
“Okay. And Ellie’s pregnant?”
I lift my hands in exasperation. “This has nothing to do with Ellie.”
“Then why is she here?” Jacob asks.
“I like her. I like hanging out with her. I wanted her to come.”
Jacob stills. “Right. So what, you’re going to be a tortured writer now instead of a tortured doctor?”
“Something like that,” I say.
“I’ve never seen him so happy since he’s been writing regularly,” Nathan says. “It’s unnerving.”
“Cheers, mate,” I reply.
“Just saying.”
“So why are we in here hiding to talk about this like you’re waiting to tell Mum and Dad Ellie’s pregnant? I don’t get it.”
“Of course you don’t,” Nathan says. “So speaks the natural heir to the Cove name.”
“What?” Jacob says.
“You’re medicine’s golden boy,” Nathan says. “Zachy here’s worried that Mum and Dad are going to be pissed off that he’s leaving medicine—”
“I’m not leaving medicine.”
“Yes you are,” Nathan says.
“No, I’m not.” I don’t have the energy to tell him all about how my agent says it will be good marketing to stay as a working medic. And anyway, it might temper Mum and Dad’s disappointment. An image of their disappointed faces flickers in my head and my stomach flops and churns. “Maybe I do need to get it over with.”