Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I head back inside to get ready. I tend not to go out too much because Oliver is with me most of the time. I love spending time with Oliver, but when I don’t have him, I try to catch up with friends. And it just so happens that tonight is a celebration. My sister, Izzy, just flew in for work, and she wants me to meet up with her once she’s done with her meeting. She won’t be in town long, which is sad because she’ll miss seeing Oliver, but I get it. She wants to be at home with her own family.
After quickly changing into a short red dress and my black Louboutins, I release my hair from its bun and let it fall gently over my shoulders in waves. I paint some red lipstick on my lips and add some mascara to my eyelashes before I head out the door.
When I step outside, the Uber is already waiting for me. Getting into the car, I text my sister that I’m ten minutes out, and she replies that she’s already had one glasses of wine and is waiting for me. She has to catch a flight out later tonight, but first we’re going to have a few drinks together.
When I arrive, I find Izzy sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of wine as the man next to her talks to her. Stepping up to her other side, I place my hand on her lower back.
She turns her head in my direction, and when she sees me, her sour expression morphs into a smile, and she pulls me in for a hug. “Gosh, Cres, I missed you so much.”
Most of my family calls me Cres.
“Same. And you should see Oliver. He’s so big now.”
She pulls back and smiles. “I’m so sad, I’m going to miss him. You must come home for the holidays. Please tell me you will.”
I’ve actually thought about going home for the holidays this year. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to take Oliver away from Noah for so long, but he just took Oliver on a week-long vacation to see his family, so I feel it’s only fair that I should be able to do the same.
“I think I might,” I tell her.
She turns back to the bar and waves the bartender over, ordering me a glass of wine.
“Good. We could use you back home.” She nudges me as I climb up and sit on the stool next to her. “How is Noah?”
“He’s doing well. He’s engaged.” Her eyes go wide as the bartender hands me my glass.
“Holy shit. For real?” she says, surprised. “I thought that man would be heartbroken for years.” She laughs. “I mean, good for him.”
Everyone in my family loves Noah, so my sister’s comment kind of throws me. Soren also mentioned how he thought Noah was still interested in me. But us splitting up was mutual, so when they say it, I usually just brush it off. He’s still friends with all of my family on social media. I see them commenting on one another’s stuff regularly, and none of that bothers me because, technically, he’s going to be a part of my family forever since we share a son.
Izzy proceeds to tell me about her business deal, then complains about how awful our airports are, which caused her to be an hour late to her meeting, and now she’s dreading flying back. I told her that the longer we stay out, the easier it will be to get to the airport, and she laughed.
“So, are you seeing anyone? It’s been two years since your split.”
“Nope, not seeing anyone.”
“Married to your work.” She shakes her head as we each take a drink.
“Actually, I got a new job,” I tell her.
“Oh, wow. Really?”
I explain how I’ll be managing the newsroom, and she remembers that I used to do that before I got heavy into investigative journalism. As long as I’m doing something with stories, I think I’ll be happy no matter what I’m doing.
By the time I give her the rundown on everything, we’re already on our third glass of wine, and it’s getting late. Which means she’s going to have to leave me soon. I can already feel the dread creep up in my chest at the thought of not seeing her for a while. It’s not so bad when you don’t see your family for long periods, but it makes it worse when you see them in small increments, and then they leave again.
“Fuck it! I’m booking the vacation to see you all.” I slam my fist down on the bar top.
She laughs and agrees that’s precisely what I should do before she says, “Ummm… what about the new job?”
“Yes, what about the new job?” a dark voice says behind me, grazing my ear as he speaks.