Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Every fiber in my being hoped Jerome was right. Not that I wanted Antonia hurting any more than she was, but I didn’t like the idea of this man sending Miriam’s kids away.
At least that’s what I told myself, because the truth was, I liked Antonia, a lot. And I didn’t know how I’d spend all summer seeing her with someone else.
“Great,” I muttered when Cutter’s house came into view as I recalled the unfamiliar cars in the driveway from the night before. I thought about picking up the pace to speed by the house without anyone noticing. I didn’t expect anyone to be outside at this hour, but in my mind, I liked to believe Antonia might’ve been thinking about me.
I laughed out loud at my thoughts and shook my head. “Get over yourself.”
I kept my pace steady for Scout’s benefit. Being a Lab, he’d tire out quickly, and there was no way I’d be able to carry the big baby home.
I slowed when I reached the Vaughns’ driveway, because I couldn’t help but look again to see which cars were parked there. Unlike last night, Antonia’s car was there.
A female voice rang out, and a door slammed. Gravel crunched, and my mind screamed at me to start running again, but I stood there, stock still, needing to see if it was Antonia.
When she stepped out onto the porch, dressed like she had been last Saturday morning, I wondered if this would become routine for us—meeting at the end of the driveway—to go get breakfast.
“You could only hope,” I muttered.
“Good morning,” she said as soon as I’d finished speaking to myself. “Who were you talking to?”
Great.
“Uh . . . Scout.”
She smiled at me and crouched to give my dog the attention I sought from her. Maybe if I was as cute as my dog . . . nope, that was just desperation at this point.
“Good morning,” I finally said when she stood. She was dressed for winter, with a knit hat on, a parka, and, if I had to guess, thermal pants. “Are you heading to the Cozy Cup Café?”
Her smile beamed, and my heart did this double flip and sank.
“I am.” She nodded toward the house. “Miri’s determined to make Cutter his game day breakfast, but Nova and I want doughnuts.” Antonia turned toward the house briefly. “I also want to give her some private time with her babies. They need it.”
Antonia stepped toward the road, forcing me to move back to give her space. She started walking and then looked over her shoulder at me. “Are you coming?”
“Yep.” We were now. I tugged Scout’s leash, and we fell in step with Antonia. “How’s Miriam doing?”
Antonia looked at the ground, her shoulders visibly lifting with her heavy sigh. “It’s not good. Her doctor talked to her about her quality of life yesterday. She has to spend most of her time in the hospital. She’s home today for the game. The doctor doesn’t recommend her even going because of germs, but she insists. I won’t tell her otherwise.” Antonia shrugged.
“I wish there was something I could do about the game and the germ thing, but there isn’t.”
“Oh, I know. I offered to have her on video chat, but Miri says it’s not the same. She wants to be there, among the fans, immersed in the atmosphere of watching the game and cheering along with everyone else.”
“How are you doing?”
Antonia stopped and looked at me for a second and then started walking again. “I have my mom here. She takes the brunt of my anger, tears, and grumpiness. Other than that, I try to remain positive for the kids and just bottle everything up.”
“Your boyfriend isn’t a sounding board for you?” I blurted out before I could stop the word vomit.
What in the hell is wrong with you? I needed my ass kicked for asking such an asinine question.
Antonia scoffed. “Brendan? No, never. And we broke up.”
I wanted to ask her to repeat herself because certainly, I’d heard her incorrectly. Jerome had been right. “Oh?”
She shrugged. “It was a long time coming. We were sort of in this limbo situation. Our relationship wasn’t moving forward, and when this shit with Miri started, he thought ultimatums were the best course of action.”
We came to the corner and waited for traffic to stop. Once it was clear, we crossed the street.
“Is this where the whole boarding school fiasco came into play?”
She nodded and beat me to the door of the Cozy Cup Café and opened it for Scout and me to go in.
We got in line, standing next to each other. “I’m buying today,” she said.
As much as I wanted to be a child and roll my eyes, I didn’t. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it.”
She laughed a little, and it was nice to hear.