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)
I playfully give her the same puppy-dog eyes Violet gives me when she wants something, and Marie gives in.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. Text me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Yay! It’s going to be so much fun!”
We spend the next few minutes chatting until Marie checks her phone and says she forgot she has an appointment she needs to get to. With the promise of seeing each other this weekend, we say goodbye, and I head back home to my family.
When I walk in the door, the place is quiet, so I check the back and find Ryder throwing Violet into the pool and Addie cheering him on from the steps.
After quickly changing into my swimsuit, I head out back to join them.
The moment Addie catches sight of me, she yells, “Mama!” as she toddles out of the pool and over to me.
I scoop her into my arms and then bring her into the pool with me as Ryder throws Violet again and she comes up, giggling.
I snuggle into his side, and he kisses me tenderly.
“Did you have a good time?” he asks.
“Yeah, the break was great, but truthfully, I’d rather be here. I used to feel trapped within the walls of my home, but here, with you and our girls, it feels like it’s where I’m meant to be.”
Ryder grins and nods in understanding. “Yeah, I feel the same way.”
chapter twenty-one
KIRA
“Oh my God, I am stuffed.”
I throw myself back onto the couch and clutch my stomach, sure I’ve eaten my weight in sushi and junk food. Ana wasn’t lying when she said she’d handle the food for our girls’ night.
“Same,” Paige says with a groan. “We should order from this place for our book club discussion.”
“Oh, yes,” I agree. “Ryder loves sushi.”
“Did you ever hear back from your friend?” Ana asks.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and find a text from Marie.
Marie
I’m so sorry! An emergency came up, and I can’t make it. Rain check?
“She had an emergency come up.”
I send her a text back, asking if everything’s okay, and then repocket my phone.
“Oh, that’s a bummer,” Paige says. “Everything alright?”
“I think she’s been through a lot.” I shrug. “I get it. It’s hard to let people in, especially strangers.”
“Maybe next time,” Ana says with a smile. “Because there will be a next time.”
“Should we watch a movie?” Paige asks with a yawn.
We’ve spent the past several hours eating, drinking, and gossiping.
Paige and her boyfriend are having a bit of trouble because he’s been told that when his contract is up in September, they have a job for him back in London, but Paige doesn’t want to move again, and he promised this was the last move.
Ana and Julian have decided they’re done having babies, and Ana is going to stay home until their daughter turns one, and then she’d like to go back to work full-time.
When I mentioned that even though I love being home with Violet and Addie, I feel like it’s wrong for Ryder to pay me, Ana said she gets it because she’s no longer working and doesn’t feel like she’s contributing to the household.
But then Julian overheard and said she and I were contributing more than any job we could have outside the home. We’re taking care of the most important people in our lives, and that’s worth more than any job we could have. I never thought about it like that, but I get it, and I can see where Ryder is coming from.
“A movie sounds good,” Ana says, “but if I fall asleep halfway through it, it’s not my fault.”
Paige finds a cute old-school romantic comedy on the television and clicks play, and within thirty minutes, both women are passed out.
I should be as well, but I’m nervous about sleeping at someone else’s house. I never know when my nightmares are going to strike, and the last thing I want is to wake up the entire house with my screams. So, instead of going to sleep, I continue to watch the movie despite how tired I am.
As if Ryder can sense my inner struggle, he sends me a text.
Ryder
Are you asleep yet?
Me
I’m scared…
The phone rings immediately, so I get up and go to the guest room, closing the door behind me, and then call him back. Since it’s a video call, his handsome face fills the screen.
“Hey,” he says, his features etched with concern. “What are you scared about?”
Just seeing him and hearing his voice already has me feeling slightly better.
“Having a nightmare and waking everyone up.”
“Ahh. Well, when you sleep with me, you don’t seem to have any.”
The past several nights, I’ve slept with Ryder in his bed. Ever since we spent the night together, he’s insisted on me sleeping in his room, saying now that he knows what it’s like for me to sleep with him, I can’t take it away.