Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Raising my daughter as a single mom wasn’t the life I dreamed of, and neither was being homeless. But thanks to my abusive ex and a broken system, that’s our reality.
Until Ryder Du Ponte finds us sleeping in our SUV in the company parking garage and brings us home with him.
The handsome single dad convinces me to work for him as a live-in nanny. And against my better judgment, I accept.
With each passing day, Ryder becomes more than my boss. My heart is invested, but falling for him means risking everything.
The problem is, I can’t ignore how safe I feel in his arms, and that’s what scares me the most.
Ryder
Money can buy a lot of things, but it can’t buy love. A valuable lesson I learned the hard way—first with my parents and then when my ex chose to take a payoff and walk away.
One day, I’m a single dad, doing my thing, and the next, I have a beautiful nanny and her adorable daughter living under my roof.
Kira Adams is everything I never thought I’d find. She’s not only sweet and selfless, but she’s also a damn good mom to her daughter … and mine.
The longer she’s in our lives, the harder it’ll be to let her go. What started out as friendship has grown into something neither of us expected.
I know I should cut her loose before this thing goes any further, but I can’t. I’m already hooked on her.
*Hooked on You is book two in the Love & Whiskey series but can be read as a standalone*
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
hooked on you playlist
Treat You Better – Shaw Mendes
What Ifs – Kane Brown
Little Do You Know – Alex & Sierra
Fight Song – Rachel Platten
Roar – Katy Perry
I Wanna Dance with Somebody – Whitney Houston
The Comeback – Danny Gokey
Rain On Me – Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande
Stand By You – Rachel Platten
She’s So High – Tal Bachman
This Love (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift
prologue
RYDER
“Ryder, your wife is on line one. She said it’s an emergency.”
“Thank you, Julie,” I say to my assistant.
I quickly press the line and bring the phone to my ear. “Nora, is everything okay?”
“No,” my wife shouts through the phone over the sound of a screaming baby. “Everything is not okay. I need you to come home now.”
I’m already standing, worst-case scenarios flitting through my head. Did our daughter fall and hit her head? Did she choke on something? Was there some kind of accident? Addie is only four months old, but anything is possible.
“Let me call you on my cell.”
I hang up and grab my phone, seeing a dozen missed calls and texts from Nora. Shit. I had it on silent because I was in a meeting earlier and forgot to turn the ringer back on.
“Hello,” she breathes, the screaming in the background still going strong.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, snagging my keys and running out the door.
“I don’t know! The nanny isn’t here, thanks to you giving her the time off, and I have no idea what the hell is wrong with her.”
I step into the elevator and press the button for the parking garage.
“Did something happen?” I ask in confusion.
“How the hell am I supposed to know? I tried to feed her, but she threw up all over me. I was supposed to be meeting my mother for brunch, but I can’t go now because I’m going to have to shower, and the formula stained my dress, and I have no one to watch Adeline.”
“Forget your fucking brunch for a second,” I bark. “Why is our daughter screaming like she’s in pain?”
“Because the nanny and you have turned her into a spoiled brat, and neither of you are here, so I’m left to deal with it.”
“She’s four months old,” I remind her as I get into my car. “She has needs, and the only reason she’d be crying, unless there was something wrong with her, is if they weren’t being met.”
“Well, I don’t know how to meet her needs. Maybe we need to hire another nanny. She literally gave us zero notice.”
“Her mother passed away,” I say dryly, wondering how this has become my life. “You can’t exactly give notice when you don’t know your mother is going to have a heart attack and die.”
She called Friday night and told me her mom was in the hospital and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Nora was on a girls’ trip with her mother and friends, so I spent the weekend with Addie.
Last night, the nanny called and said her mom didn’t make it, and of course, I told her to take off as much time as she needed. Because I had to go to work today, Nora was left to take care of Addie. It’s only been about two hours since I left.
“Can you please just get home?” Nora huffs over the line. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
I click End, and the car immediately goes silent, giving me a few minutes to calm myself so I don’t lose it on my wife. For a woman who wanted a baby as badly as she did, it’s insane, the way she wants nothing to do with caring for our daughter.
The nanny mentioned that Nora has gotten worse, relying on her to do everything, but I didn’t fully grasp the severity of the situation until now, as I walk inside and hear my daughter screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Jesus fucking Christ! What do you want from me?” Nora yells, sending chills up my spine.
It brings me back to when I was little and my parents would fight. And then my dad would leave, and my mom would take it out on me. Nothing I did was right. I was too messy, too noisy, too much work. I tried to be cleaner, to keep my mouth shut, to make it to where she wouldn’t be upset. All I wanted was for her to love me … and instead, she left.
I follow the cries, and they lead me to the nursery, where I find Nora standing over our daughter in her crib. Addie’s face is bright red and blotchy from crying, and when her hazel eyes—identical to my own—meet mine, my heart shatters into a million pieces.
I shouldn’t have left Nora with Addie. This morning, when I told her the nanny wouldn’t be coming in, she threw a fit over having to care for our daughter herself. I called her a selfish bitch and told her she could handle one damn day of taking care of Addie. But I should’ve listened because based on Addie’s face, she’s been crying for a while.