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)
Henry
Fine. What’s her name?
I groan at his question.
You’re not running a background check on her.
“Dada!” Addie yells, announcing she’s awake.
I gotta go. We’ll see you for the picnic, and I expect you to be nice.
Of course, my dad doesn’t reply, and I know this won’t be the end of it. He’s probably already contacting his investigator to find out who Kira is. He only asked me what her name was, hoping I’d give it to him and make it easier for him to dig into her background.
After what went down with Nora, he gave me a huge lecture about knowing who I was involved with. After my mom had left him, he had become more bitter than he already had been and never married again. He thinks because one woman hurt him, all women are like that. But I refuse to have that same mindset. My mom ran because she couldn’t handle the lifestyle. Nora ran because I hadn’t involved myself in enough of the lifestyle.
But Kira is different. I can feel it in my gut and in my heart. And I know, unlike my mom and Nora, she’s not going anywhere.
“Hey, Ryder,” Kira says, snapping me from my thoughts. “I got you something.”
I glance up and find her holding a pair of men’s swim trunks, covered in pink flamingos and half-eaten doughnuts. The same design she bought for herself and the girls.
“Now, you can eat your own doughnuts.” She smirks.
She might think she’s funny—and, okay, she is—but the fact that she went out of her way to buy me shorts to match them just made my fucking day.
“Nah,” I say, snatching the shorts out of her hand and leaning in to kiss her sweet lips. “I appreciate the shorts, and I’m definitely going to wear them, but I’m still snacking on your doughnuts.”
chapter twenty
KIRA
“Do you want to grab a coffee on the way?”
I glance over at Ryder and nod absentmindedly, too nervous to speak actual words. After an amazing weekend—between a date night with Ryder and spending the rest of the weekend with our girls in our own little bubble—it’s Monday, and Ryder took the day off to go to the attorney’s office with me to discuss my situation.
Ana offered to keep the girls while we went, so we dropped them off, and now, we’re on our way into the city. I know I need to get a divorce—and believe me, I want one—but it’s like messing with a hornet’s nest. You know it’s there because the hornets are visibly hanging out on it, but unless you mess with it, they’ll leave you alone, so you do what any sane person would do—you leave it the hell alone.
Since I left Brian, my goal has been to stay under the radar—don’t mess with the hornet’s nest. But the moment I file, that’s all going to change. Because once Brian’s nest has been shaken, he’s going to know exactly where to go to come after me.
Ryder swears he’ll make sure we’re protected, and I believe that he’ll try, but he also doesn’t understand what Brian is capable of because on Ryder’s worst day, he could never be as horrible of a human as Brian is.
“Hey,” Ryder says, taking my hand in his and entwining our fingers. “It’s all going to be okay. We’re not doing anything today. We’re just going to talk to the attorney and see what our options are and how we go about it.”
We … our …
It’s when he uses words like that, I’m reminded that I’m not alone. With my mom, I always feel like a burden. She loves me—I know she does—but she can barely handle her own life on a good day. With Raymond, I was nothing more than a good time. Brian wanted to own me. But when Ryder talks to me, it’s as if we’re a team—in this together.
“Thank you,” I tell him, lifting our hands and kissing the tops of his knuckles. “Regardless of what happens, thank you for being here for me.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
After getting coffee and breakfast, we head to the attorney’s office. Her name is Debra Katzen, and she’s younger than I expected. For a moment, I’m worried that she’s too young and inexperienced to handle my case, but after I explain my situation—that I don’t want anything but to be legally divorced—and she starts speaking, I know I was wrong.
“I have a PI on retainer,” she says. “He’s been investigating Mr. Williams since Ryder and I spoke, and I already have enough on him to have him disbarred. But we’re not done digging, and we won’t stop until we have enough to bury him.”
“Do I even want to know what you have on him?” I ask.
I knew Brian was shady from the conversations I’d overheard, but I tuned it out—ignorance is bliss and all that.