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)
“What’s up?” he asks when he catches me looking at him.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
It’s only two words, and it doesn’t feel like nearly enough for what he’s done for us in such a short time, but it’s all I’ve got.
chapter eight
RYDER
“She’s here,” Julian says over the phone. “Beautiful and healthy and fucking perfect. Both mom and baby are doing well.”
When I saw him earlier at the office, he said Ana was having some contractions, but it wasn’t enough to go to the hospital. I guess they progressed.
“Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks. Her name is Emilia Helen Parker, named after Ana’s mom and mine,” he says.
He goes over the labor and delivery, her height and weight, and how proud he is of Ana. I’m so happy that my best friend found love, and when I listen to him talk, it gives me hope that maybe, someday, I’ll find that too.
“Let us know when you’re home and situated, and we’ll come by and visit. And let Ana know I think she’s superwoman. Oh! And tell her that if she’s not up for running the discussion in our book club, I can do it for her.”
Julian chuckles. “Will do.”
After hanging up with Julian, I email my assistant to have her send a baby gift to Ana and Julian at the hospital. As I’m clicking Send, a scream echoes through the house, and I flinch, wishing there were something I could do. Since Kira and Violet moved in, the screams happen every few nights. The first time I heard it, I freaked out and ran straight to Kira’s room, only to find her fast asleep. The second time it happened, she came down, and I ended up spilling my past to her and then reading to her until she fell asleep.
I debated on whether to carry her to bed, but I had fallen asleep on that couch and woken up with a crick in my neck and didn’t want the same for her.
The past few times it happened, she either stayed asleep or didn’t come down. As I wait to see what she’ll do tonight, I scroll through my phone, checking my emails. But when the creak of the door sounds, followed by footsteps on the stairs, I grab my book to make it look like I’m reading so she doesn’t think I heard her.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey.”
I set my book down to give her my attention. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail, and her face is natural. She has tiny black circles under her eyes from her lack of sleep, but even still, she looks beautiful. Her blue eyes are darker, missing their usual brightness, and I wish I could fix whatever is causing her nightmares, so they’ll go away. I was hoping after I told her my story, she would open up about hers, but it’s been a little over a week, and she hasn’t said a word.
“Still reading the same book?” she asks, sitting on the couch across from me and lying against the pillow.
“Yeah. I’ve been busy with work.” The truth is, I’m almost done with the book, but I don’t tell her that.
She nods in understanding and then says, “Can you read me some more?”
Since I dog-eared the page I stopped on when I read to her the last time, I find it quickly and start reading again. I feel her eyes on me as I read page after page, but I don’t look up or stop reading. When I get to the sex scene, it takes everything in me to read it out loud. It’s detailed, and even though we’re both adults who have obviously had sex, there’s something intimate about reading the words to someone else.
When the heroine orgasms, I glance up and find Kira staring at me, her eyes bright and her legs pressed together. She’s wearing a flimsy tank top, and I can’t help but notice the way her nipples are poking through it.
Fuck, she’s turned on. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.
“Well, keep going,” she says, her words coming out breathy. “I need to know what happens next.”
I chuckle and continue, “‘Shit! Pull out!’
“His eyes go wide, and he jerks back. His dick springs at attention, and ropes of cum shoot out across my belly.
“‘I’m so sorry,’ he breathes. ‘I’ve never gone without a condom.’”
Kira snorts out a laugh, and I glance back up at her.
“Typical man.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s exactly what Raymond said to me the night I got pregnant with Violet.”
I’m shocked she’s opening up to me, so I don’t say anything, letting her talk.
“A month later, I found out I was pregnant, and he pulled the whole I’m not ready for that kind of commitment shit.” Another eye roll. “He told me having kids wasn’t in his plans and asked why I wasn’t on birth control. One, I was. But I was a college student and sucked at remembering. That’s what condoms are for.”