Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Oh no. Henry would definitely not go for something like this.”
“Why not?”
She laughed slightly. “Because I like it.”
I didn’t laugh. That seemed to be the theme of the day. Anything she thought was amazing, her husband was quick to shut down. I disliked the guy more and more with every passing second.
“Does he do that a lot?”
“Do what?”
“Undermine you and speak down to you.”
Her eyes flashed with surprise for a moment. Then her lips parted and she said, “Yes.”
I stared at her for a moment, not saying a word. I found myself doing that often. Getting lost in the mere existence of her.
Kierra released a timid chuckle. “What is it that you’re thinking about?”
“Nothing. It’s just that you remind me…”
“Remind you of what?”
“Everything.”
Before she could reply, Ramona and Henry reappeared. Ramona smiled at the tub. “Holy big tub!” she remarked. “You could fit a whole football team in that thing.”
“It’s pretty large,” I agreed, standing up from the tub. “A nice one, though. I think it’s the best of the bunch,” I confidently stated, feeling as if Henry would take my opinion with more weight than his wife’s.
“What do you think, Kierra?” Henry asked with his brow furrowed.
Kierra looked at me before darting her eyes back to Henry. She shrugged. “I think it’s too much.”
Henry grumbled slightly and rubbed his chin. “I think it’s perfect. Let’s go with this one, Gabriel.”
“You got it,” I said, smirking toward Kierra, who was biting her bottom lip to hide her snicker. What a damn idiot Henry was.
“Henry and I were discussing… We still have a lot of stops to make, and he has to go into the office for work tonight, it turns out,” Ramona mentioned.
“I thought you had the whole weekend off,” Kierra said to Henry.
“I know, but things came up. I have a big call next week with executives in China. I need to prepare for the meeting,” he explained.
“You’re so hardworking,” Ramona said. I almost rolled my eyes to the back of my head. “Regardless, maybe we should split up to handle the tasks. I can take Henry to the marble shop if you two want to finish up here and hit up the hardwood flooring.”
We agreed.
I felt the difference in Kierra when Henry wasn’t around as we finished all the tasks of the day. She seemed…happy.
***
Kierra came over to my house to sketch for a few hours once a week. Her talent was blowing my mind, and I couldn’t help but want to see one of her pieces come to life. Bentley seemed to be her biggest fan, too, because he always chose to lie on her feet instead of mine. Some nights, we’d just sketch without talking. Others, we’d talk over sketching. She was becoming more and more a part of my life, and I loved it.
“You really need to add some life to your house,” she said one night in my kitchen after we ordered a pizza. “There’s no artwork or color.”
“I haven’t gotta around to decorating it yet.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Ten years.”
Her eyes widened. “Ten years and you haven’t found anything to decorate the house with?”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t at the forefront of my mind.”
“You just need someone to come into your life and add a bit of color,” she confidently said. “It just needs a little bit of a woman’s touch.”
I didn’t tell her that she was the woman that I wanted to touch my life. But the thought crossed my mind.
***
“I want to see one come to life,” I told her another night, after she packed up her things to head home. “One of your dresses.”
“Oh gosh, no.” She shook her head. “I haven’t actually sewn in a very long time.”
“I’m sure it’s like riding a bike.”
She bit her bottom lip.
I wished she wouldn’t do that.
It made me want to bite it, too.
“Maybe,” she said with a weighted sigh. “Maybe I’ll try.”
“Please do,” I said. “And then I want you to wear it for me.”
***
Summer was coming to an end, which annoyed me, because that meant Ava would be going back to school, spending less time at GS Architecture. The whole team was getting used to having the kid around, and I was almost certain it would feel a little emptier with her gone. A part of me debated telling her to drop out of school and become a part of the staff, but I had a very strong feeling her parents would be against that idea.
Still, the kid would be missed.
“How was today?” Kierra asked both Ava and me as she walked into the office space. “Any new adventures?”
“I got to shadow Bobby for the whole day and he taught me how to use the computer programs. Mom! Can you buy me the programs for at home? I need them. Oh! And I’m helping plan the baby shower for Eddie and his wife, Sarah! Do you know they are having a girl? Oh, Mom, you should come to the baby shower! Gabriel, can my mom come to the baby shower? Oh! And Mom, can you—”