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)
“Oh.” I didn’t realize he had seen her text. “The girls aren’t up yet …”
“I mean, by yourself,” he says with a chuckle. “I can handle them when they wake up. You deserve to have some alone time. You do so much for us.”
“I’m going to have a girls’ night this weekend,” I point out.
“One has nothing to do with the other,” he says. “Go meet your friend for coffee, tell her all about our night the way women do.”
He smirks, and I roll my eyes.
“Maybe then she’ll realize how serious we are about each other and she won’t be so negative.”
“You really don’t mind?”
Brian hated me having girlfriends, and Raymond never got along with my friends in college.
“Would you care if I were going to meet Julian for lunch?”
“No.”
“Exactly.” He grips my hips and sets me on the floor, then tips my chin and kisses me.
“But you also don’t work for me,” I say. “I’m on the clock right now.”
“I’m done with the fucking clock,” he murmurs. “You’re fired.”
I gasp, and he chuckles.
“Let me ask you a question, and be honest.”
“Okay.”
“If you could do anything, money no object, what would you do?”
I think about that for a moment. I went to school to be a teacher, and when it was just Violet and me, that was what I wanted to do. And I still do, but now, with Addie in the picture …
“I want to be your nanny. I love being with Addie and Violet. I know in August, Violet will start school, and I always thought I’d get a job teaching, but that would mean putting Addie in day care, and I want to be the one to take care of her, not someone else.”
I shrug, and Ryder’s face splits into a smile.
“Are you Violet’s nanny?”
“What?” I laugh. “No. I’m her mom …”
But the second I say the words, I know where he’s going with this.
“Then, you’re not Addie’s nanny either.” Ryder pulls me into his arms. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking away your choices the way your ex did. I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck or you can’t leave. So, for now, I’m going to continue to pay you, but you’re no longer Addie’s nanny. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and if at any time you no longer want to be home with the girls, you say the word, and we’ll handle it together. If you want to go have coffee with your friend without the girls and I’m available, I want you to go. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He gives me a quick kiss. “Now, go have coffee with your friend, and when you get home, we’ll figure out dinner.”
Twenty minutes later, I arrive at the coffee shop to meet Marie. She’s not there yet, so I order us both a coffee and something to eat and have a seat. A few minutes into drinking my iced latte, I see her strolling in.
“Hey, I ordered you a coffee and a muffin.” I point to her drink and food as she sits.
“Thanks.” She glances around. “Where’s Adeline?”
“Who?” I ask in confusion because nobody calls Addie by her real name.
“Addie,” she clarifies. “Sorry. I know someone else with the same name. I just assumed that was her real name.”
I nod in understanding. “She’s with her father. Both girls are at home with him. They were napping when I left.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asks, taking a sip of her coffee.
When I raise a questioning brow, she clarifies, “Leaving your daughter with a man she barely knows.”
“She knows Ryder very well, and I trust him.” I think back to the past few days, and I can’t help but smile when I add, “He told me he loves me.”
Marie’s eyes go wide. “Already? That seems kind of soon, doesn’t it?”
“I know you’re worried about me, and I appreciate it, especially since both of us have been through some tough times with men, but Ryder’s different. He’s even hired an attorney to help me divorce Brian.”
Marie nods, but doesn’t say anything for several minutes, and I wonder if she’s lost in thought, thinking about what she’s been through. I don’t know the extent of what happened to her, and I don’t want to push, but maybe talking to someone will help. And that’s when an idea comes to me.
“My friend Ana is throwing a girls’ night this weekend. You should come. Her friend Paige will be there. We’re going to drink and eat and let loose.”
“Oh, no, I can’t …”
She shakes her head, but I’m not accepting no for an answer. She needs other women in her life. Isolating yourself is never the answer.
“Yes,” I insist. “It will be a great time, and if you don’t want to spend the night, you don’t have to. When’s the last time you had a girls’ night? C’mon. Say yes, please.”