Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
What I didn’t realize was there was a fifth sister.
I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together. All the McDavid sisters favor one another, but when I saw the youngest of the girls in a different setting, I didn’t realize she was their sister. She is always off on her own when I’m around, and I assumed she was a friend or a cousin.
Once more, fate tricked me.
“Riggs, have you met my youngest granddaughter, Clara McDavid?”
I can’t even hear Dan as he introduces his granddaughter to me. As I said, I’ve seen her around, and she’s caught my eye more than once. I’ve never approached her because it’s obvious she’s much younger than my thirty-five. I don’t know how old she is, but I know I’m too old. Not that I think she is attracted to me. It’s more the fact that the spot in my chest that has been dead for the last fourteen years burns a bit when I see her. It’s not beating again or tripping over itself, but it’s warming a bit. A lot of a bit.
I’ve been attracted to women, which is why I end up in bed with them, but my heart has never warmed or even made itself known in the presence of anyone. Until her. I find myself breathless as she looks up at me, her navy-blue eyes shining under her thick, dark lashes. They remind me of the loch that surrounds our little cottage back home. Her lips are curved up in a wide smile, dimples appearing in her cheeks, making her seem even younger. She has the cutest little nose, like a wee fairy. Her dark-brown hair is pulled up in a messy bun, and her lips are glossed to perfection. She wears a pair of black shorts that flare along her toned thighs and a Bears tee that hugs her breasts in a way that leaves me jealous of the fabric touching her. I move my gaze back up to her eyes and find that she’s blushing.
Her teeth are pressing into the cushion of her thicker bottom lip, and her eyes darken.
Shit, was I openly checking her out?
I’m a fucking eejit.
I can’t stop staring at her lips, and my cock roars to life, pressing hard against the zipper of my jeans, leaving me not only uncomfortable but damn well in pain.
“Riggs?”
“Sorry,” I say quickly, looking down at Gretzky and Gordie. They whine beside me, their tails wagging as they gaze at me, hopeful. They want to greet her dog, who is hiding between her legs. I’ve never been one to be jealous of a dog, but damn, what I’d do to be between her sweet thighs.
Fucking hell, what is wrong with me?
I clear my throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Clara.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” she says, her voice reminding me of a lullaby. Soft and sweet. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Peepaw said you’ve been having issues with dog care.”
I’m lost in her voice, the way her lips move, and I know I need to get away from her. What she says, though, is true, and I find myself saying, “Yeah, my last dog sitter has moved. I’d bring these two knuckleheads with me, but I wouldn’t be able to be with them the way I want.”
She nods eagerly. “I have a mobile dog care business. I come to your home and take the dogs on a trip to my dog resort out in my mobile dog van for the day, then come back and stay with them at night in your home so they’re comfortable since that’s what Peepaw said you prefer, or they can stay with me at my resort. When I have overnight guests, I stay the night in the resort with them.”
“They don’t do well in resorts, which is why I usually get a dog sitter. They’re spoiled.”
She beams, and fuck me, the way her face lights up has me wanting to preen for her. Drop to my knees. Beg her to never stop smiling. “So is my baby,” she says, rubbing her pit bull behind the ear. “The best dogs are.” I couldn’t agree more, but I can’t say that. I need to get out of here. I need to get away from her. I cannot hire her. It won’t end well for me.
The last time my heart was beating, it was shattered, and I can’t go through that again. The reason I got Gretzky and Gordie was because their love is unconditional. They love me fully, as I do them. They don’t get distracted by other people or want to leave me. They are loyal; they are mine, and I am theirs. Women are trouble, and I can’t allow myself to get close to this one.
Not only do I want her, but she is way too young for me.