Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“Even more reason for us to be gone when they bring him down with his suitcase,” Phoenix suggested. “Come on, Crash. Let’s go back to our apartment, and you can get comfortable.”
Sadie appeared, toting Lyra’s case carefully. “Here, Lyra. You played so beautifully. I could feel every emotion in the songs.”
“Thank you, Sadie. I played some of my favorites. You probably want to fire me now.”
“No way. We’ll just station more bodyguards to keep everyone from swarming you,” she said before adding, “You know…if you want to play… I’ll understand if you don’t.”
“Oh, I loved playing tonight despite Boyd. And that worked out okay. I gave him my notice that he is no longer my agent in the sight of a bunch of witnesses,” Lyra said breezily.
“Come on, brave one. It’s time to unwind,” Phoenix suggested.
“Yes. That would be nice.”
Lyra quickly stowed her cello in its case and allowed Phoenix to push it on the rolling wheels to the elevator. He ushered her inside. For once, Lyra was grateful that fans tended to give her space. No one piled inside with them. The elevator glided smoothly up to the fifth floor.
“How do you like to celebrate an amazing performance, Little girl?” Phoenix asked.
“I usually just have a cup of hot tea in my room,” Lyra shared as they walked into the large gathering area. “Tonight, I’d like to hang out with my new best friends. What time do you think Sadie gets off work?”
“She’s probably on her way up here to change now.”
“Think anyone likes scary movies?” she asked.
“Do you like that kind of movie?”
“Not usually, but it will wipe all the unpleasantness out of my mind,” Lyra suggested.
Chapter Eight
The scary movie lasted about twenty minutes. Lyra scooted as close to her Daddy as possible and closed her eyes every time the scary music started. That didn’t make it any better. Her imagination went into overdrive, and she peeked, usually at the worst time.
Lyra looked around to see how the other Littles were reacting to the pictures on the giant screen in the basement. She saw Juniper shake her head vigorously to refuse the bowl of popcorn her Daddy offered her. The Little held her hands over her mouth and frequently raised them to clap over her eyes when ominous music started.
Celeste and Zara held pillows on their laps and lifted them frequently to shield their eyes. She was so fascinated by watching the others that she almost missed the bad guy jumping out of the closet with outstretched hands. When Sadie screamed, Lyra echoed the noise automatically before turning to bury her face against Phoenix. This was not fun!
"I don’t think this is a good idea, Little girl,” Phoenix said, reaching for the remote.
Magnus beat him to it. He turned off the show when Juniper jumped off the couch. When he held out his arms, Juniper ran to curl up in her Daddy’s lap as he sat at the computer.
“We were watching that,” Zara complained, peeking over the couch.
“If no one has nightmares tonight, I’ll let you watch more tomorrow. How about watching this one?” Magnus flicked his hands over the computer and turned on a superhero movie with an equally super attractive underwater hero in a skin-tight outfit.
“Oooh! He’s cute,” Juniper said a few minutes later. “I’m ready to eat popcorn now, Daddy.”
Magnus met Phoenix’s look and rolled his eyes as he shook his head. “You’d think that guy’s a Daddy.”
“Do you think he is?” Celeste asked, leaning forward to peer at the screen. “He’s handsome and built.”
“Stop counting the abs carved into his costume, Cuddle Bug,” Hawking groused.
“Abs do not a Daddy make,” Sadie reminded everyone. “Nor do they have to be handsome like that actor.”
When she waved a hand toward the chiseled man striding through the water toward them, Lyra took a moment to appreciate the superhero's sheer beauty. She heard Sadie sigh deeply in appreciation of all his attributes.
“Now, I’m going to have nightmares about this movie. Maybe we should watch something animated,” Rocco suggested, sounding a little growly.
“Don’t worry, Daddy. I love you—not him. He probably doesn’t really look like that in real life anyway,” Sadie tried to reassure him.
Lyra couldn’t hold in her snort of laughter at the look on Rocco’s face. He was anything but pleased with her response. Now that she’d met all the Daddies, she found herself fascinated by the dynamics they each had with their Littles.
“Did you just snort?” Zara asked.
That was all she could take. Giggles burst from Lyra’s lips as she tried to control them. A second later, she could feel Phoenix’s chest bunching as he tried not to laugh at Rocco as well. Celeste was the next to cave into the contagious sound. Her delighted chuckles set off everyone. Even Rocco couldn’t resist the mirth filling the room.