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)
“Pepperoni, please!” Violet exclaims.
“I’m good with pepperoni as well,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
While I throw a load into the washer, Violet talks my ear off about how excited she is to have a sleepover even if Addie is a baby who doesn’t talk—her words, not mine.
“Oh no!” Violet gasps when Ryder and Addie come down in their bathing suits. “We don’t have bathing suits.” She glances at me, her brows furrowed. “How are we gonna swim? My bathing suit is at—”
“It’s okay,” I tell her, cutting her off before she can spill our business in front of Ryder. “You can go swimming in your shorts and shirt.”
She pouts. “But …”
“I can’t get you a suit tonight. It will be fine.”
“Okay,” she relents. “But will you come in with me?”
I wasn’t planning on it, but the way she’s looking up at me, not wanting to be the only one swimming with her clothes on, I can’t say no.
“Sure.”
After I’ve changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a tank, leaving my bra on, we follow Ryder through the living room and family room and out a pair of French doors that lead to the most exquisite backyard I’ve ever seen. His home is situated on what looks like several acres of land, and with the privacy shrubs and trees surrounding his home, you can’t even tell he has any neighbors.
When we step outside, to the right is a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen with a bar and a table and chairs that seat eight people. To the left is a beautiful stone fireplace with comfy-looking patio furniture.
“Mommy, look at the pool!” Violet yells. “Can I jump in?”
“Can she swim?” Ryder asks as he removes his shirt and flings it onto the lounge chair.
I’m about to answer when my eyes lock on his shirtless chest—with the perfect amount of hair—and six-pack abs and then slowly descend as I follow the happy trail toward the defined V that disappears into his board shorts. I knew the man was fit, but I had no idea he looked like that underneath those perfectly pressed suits. As if being rich and successful weren’t enough, he has to go and look like one of the guys on the cover of GQ. Without a tattoo in sight, his tanned skin is smooth and flawless.
A throat clearing shakes me from mentally snapping pictures of him to save for later when I’m alone, and when I look up, I find Ryder smirking. Shit! He just caught me checking him out.
“I’m sorry, what?” I choke out and then flinch when I realize I sound as turned on as I am.
Thankfully, Ryder doesn’t call me out on it. Instead, he says, “I asked if Violet could swim.”
Oh, right! He did ask that … and then he took off his damn shirt, and I lost all train of thought.
“Yes, she can swim like a fish.”
She’s always loved the water, even when she was a baby. I taught her at an early age how to swim since the apartment complex we lived in with my mom had a community pool. She probably swims better than most adults.
“Go ahead,” I tell her, following her to the infinity pool that overlooks the bay.
When I step out from under the overhang, glancing up, I see a second-story balcony. On one side is a set of stairs, and on the other is …
“Is that a pool slide?” I gasp, refusing to look at Ryder because I know exactly what I’ll see if I do.
He chuckles. “It is.”
“Can I go down it?” Violet asks.
“Go for it,” Ryder says.
He steps into the water, and I focus on Addie as he places her in her cute little float.
Violet wastes no time racing up the steps and running across the balcony that houses several lounge chairs.
“Ready?” she calls down.
“Yep,” I say back.
She plops onto her butt and slides straight down and into the water. A few seconds later, she pops up, laughing hysterically. “That’s so cool!”
She swims back to the steps and gets out to do it all over again.
“No running,” I remind her since she’s now wet, and the last thing I need is her slipping and cracking her head open.
“You coming in?” Ryder asks as he pushes Addie all around the pool while she giggles and splashes the water.
“She is!” Violet calls down just before she slides down again.
“I guess I am,” I say with a small laugh.
Of course, the water is warm, so I glide in with ease, watching as my daughter heads back up to the slide for round three.
She goes up and down several more times while Ryder plays with Addie, and I watch everyone around me, feeling a sense of peace for the first time in a long time.
“Pizza’s here,” Ryder says when an alarm chimes. “Can you watch her while I go grab it?”