Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Sparking that itch to create in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a long, long time.
Tiny glimmers of excitement flickered in my belly, and I attempted to suppress it as I put on a small amount of makeup.
Mascara and blush and a shiny, pink lip gloss.
Then I inhaled a steadying breath, grabbed my purse, and opened my door.
My stomach toppled all over again when I could still hear the deep tenor of Theo’s voice rumbling through the air.
What was he still doing here?
Didn’t the man have a job to do?
It seemed like there was plenty of work at this place to keep him busy, but honestly, I wasn’t surprised considering the man was about as overbearing as they came.
So, I bounded downstairs, refusing the nerves that zapped beneath my flesh.
Too bad they went haywire when I hit the bottom landing and saw Nelly and Theo at the table. Finn sat on Theo’s lap as he scribbled something in a coloring book.
My mind fried into a complete short circuit.
“Wook it, Feo. I got a bwue puppy!” Finn pointed at what he was coloring on the page.
Theo ran a tender hand over his head, and his mouth dropped to his temple, his words a gentle rumble. “Coolest dog I’ve ever seen.”
“You wike puppies?” Finn peeped.
“Oh yeah. A couple of my brothers have dogs, and they’re the best.”
“I go see?” Finn tilted his head back so he could look up at Theo.
He dropped a kiss to the middle of my son’s forehead. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Crap, crap, crap.
How was I supposed to handle this?
Nelly whistled low when she saw me loitering off to the side. “My, my, prettiest girl in the whole town.”
Theo’s attention jerked toward me, and those eyes slowly dragged over my body.
Black coals leapt into a blazing fire.
“That’s right. Prettiest girl in the whole damn town,” he rumbled.
I forced a roll of my eyes. “Charm will get you nowhere.”
Okay, it would get him everywhere because that’s where I wanted him.
On me and in me and consuming me in every way.
Then I was rolling my eyes at myself because I clearly needed to get a grip.
Inhaling, I took a step deeper into the living room. “Come and give Mommy a kiss, Finn. I need to call a ride and get in to work.”
Emery had to be dragging after all her celebrating last night.
Ivy Threads opened in a little over an hour, and I wanted to make sure I could be the best help to her that I could be.
Finn scrambled off Theo’s lap and came scampering my way. “Mommy go work, and I stay wif Newwy Bewwy?”
I knelt down and gripped his precious face, peppering a bunch of kisses to his cheeks. “Yep. Mommy is going to work for a little bit, and then when I get home, maybe we can decorate that Christmas tree?”
Hope glowed inside me.
I could give my son this.
This holiday.
His face lit up like lights on a tree, his smile stretching wide as he showed me his tiny, gapped teeth. “Mommy come home soon!”
My chest clutched when I realized what I’d said.
What I’d claimed.
Home.
I swallowed around the barbs in my throat and stood, going for my phone in my purse at the same second Theo pushed from the chair, the legs screeching on the wood floor. “I’ll take you.”
Exasperation blustered out of me. “I can get my own ride. I’m sure you have plenty of work to do around here.”
He strode forward, and the floor trembled under my feet.
He grabbed his leather jacket where it was draped on the back of the couch and swung into it. So lithe and sexy my knees went weak.
“Have to run an errand in town, anyway. No reason I can’t give you a lift.”
I could think of so many of them it wasn’t even funny. Because I could feel this man dismantling every resolution I’d ever made.
Brick by brick.
If I let him have his way, I’d be left nothing but the wreckage of toppled stones.
Because despite what we agreed on last night—a luxurious, package deal of endless orgasms until I figured out what I was going to do—nothing about this felt fleeting.
It felt like I was falling, and I was going to be a broken mess when I hit the bottom.
“Theo…”
He didn’t even give me a response. He just turned to Nelly, grinning as he said, “Thank you for the delicious breakfast, Miss Nelly. It was a real treat.”
“Oh, we know what the real treat is.”
I wanted to hiss at her to stop making this worse than it already was.
But no.
Theo was already taking that upon himself.
He picked Finn up from under the arms and tossed him into the air.
Not high enough that it was dangerous.
Just high enough to make my son squeal and laugh as he flew before Theo caught him in the safety of his arms. “See you later, Finn-Finn.”