Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
She smiles brightly and shrugs. “Men, am I right?”
“I’ll show you perfect, jackass,” Dreadlocks mutters. “Just wait until we get home.”
I’m trying to keep my cool, since Stella and Emmy aren’t freaked out, but hello, stranger danger.
Out of nowhere, Dreadlocks’ gaze snaps toward me. “You’re Frankie, right?”
“Um.” I press my lips together and nod. “Yes.”
“I’m Zach.” He leans around Emmy and thrusts his hand toward me. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“You…” I wipe my hand on my jeans before offering it to him. “You, too. I’m Frankie. But apparently, you, uh, already know that.”
“Aren’t you just a little raincloud.” I yank my hand back and whirl around to face Gabe.
“What?”
“It’s fitting really. Stella’s a ball of perpetual sunshine and you’re a juicy little raincloud.”
Emmy hmmphs under her breath.
“I didn’t forget you.” He winks at her. “You’re my sweets.”
“I’m sorry, but who are y’all?”
Gabe and Zach’s gazes clash, and then Gabe says, “You mean you’ve never heard of us?” He looks back to Zach. “I always thought our reputations preceded us.”
Zach rolls his eyes. “Yours maybe.”
“Apparently not.” He focuses on me again, and my head’s spinning from all of the back and forth. “I’m Gabe. Daddy to Emmy, bestie to Stella, and giant-two-headed dragon to Mav-a-doodle-do.”
“My son?” I ask, planting both palms on the table. “You know my son?”
Gabe quickly realizes I’m neither smiling nor joking. “I do. He’s a great kid.”
I swallow roughly, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me. “How?”
“We’re at Emmy’s a lot,” he says, his once loud voice now calm and pacifying. “At first, I only met him in passing, but Stella’s brought him over with her a few times. We played knights.” He flicks his eyes to Stella. “Zach was the noble steed, I was the two-headed dragon, Emmy was the good witch, Stella the princess in the tower, and Sterling was… Sterling.”
Vaguely, I remember Mav telling me about a dragon and a princess, but I thought he was talking about a book Stella read him.
Don’t flip out, Frankie. I count down from ten in my head. You know, love, and trust Stella. She’s good people and if she approves of Gabe and Zach, then they’re probably also good people.
The tension surrounding our table is so thick, I’m sure we could slice it with the pizza cutter. “Okay.” I nod. “Well, it’s nice to meet y’all.”
Gabe and Zach both audibly exhale their relief.
But Stella’s cheeks are red and her eyes glassy. “I’m so sorry, Frankie.”
“It’s—” I pause, because while I’m not mad, it’s not really okay either.
“No, truly.” She reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I should have talked to you first, let you meet them. I’m so sorry.”
“I forgive you,” I say, meaning it. I know her heart was in a good place, and having never been a mom, how could she really know?
“Thank you.” Stella squeezes my hand softly before letting it go.
“Quick question though, and I mean no offense…”
She quirks a brow as her lips turn up into a barely there smile.
“I thought you said this was a girls’ night?” I feel rude asking about the guys crashing, but at the same time, I was promised a girls’ night and I’m not sure how I feel about sharing it with two ginormous, strange men.
Gabe widens his eyes and presses his hand over his heart. “You mean… I’m not… one of the girls?” he asks, batting his too-long-for-a-guy lashes.
“This feels like a trick question,” I mutter to myself.
“Chill, rainy day, I’m just giving you shit. We may not be chicks, but we are definitely into dicks. More specifically, each other’s. You feel me?”
I press my lips together and nod. “Totally feel you, J-B-G.”
He rears back. “Excuse me—what does that mean?”
I suck down a gulp of my drink, suddenly feeling totally at ease. Gabe and Zach lowkey remind me of Walt and Lenny, and I love it. “Don’t know what you mean.”
“Those letters!” He pounds his fist against the tabletop, and we all giggle—especially Zach. “Tell me!”
“Jolly.” I pop the last bite of pizza into my mouth and chew thoughtfully. Slowly. “Blond.” I take another sip of my drink. “Giant.”
For a moment, silence engulfs our table, the two of us engaging in a battle of wills. But then, he laughs. Hard.
“Oh, shit, that’s good.” Gabe knocks his shoulder into Stella’s. “Priceless.”
Her blue eyes flit back and forth between us like we’re both off our rockers—probably because I’m laughing and joking with a virtual stranger when it took me forever to open up to her.
I don’t know what it is; there’s just something about Gabe that puts me completely at ease.
“Y’all are weird.”
“Takes one to know one.” Gabe claps back, looking all too pleased with himself.
“Whatever.” She throws a wad of cash on the table, and Emmy and I follow suit, making sure to leave enough to cover our meal and the tip. “Are y’all ready for the best part of the night?”