Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Now that my first day was here, I was more than a little nervous. I’d never had a full-time job before, but I was looking forward to working with kids. I figured it would be good practice since I wanted to have a whole slew of my own when I found the right man.
Not that I had a ton of opportunities to meet a guy who wanted the same thing as I did. The boys I had gone to school with were nowhere ready to settle down because of our age. But only being eighteen didn’t matter to me since my mom hadn’t been much older when she got pregnant with me.
All thoughts of my mom and the babies I wanted in the future fled when I walked through the doors of K-Corp. My mouth was dry, and my palms were sweaty as I headed up the elevator after going through security. But when I exited the lift and heard the happy sounds of kids, my nerves fled. Rushing down the hallway, I walked into the entrance of the daycare area wearing a wide smile.
“Hello, Talia,” Susan greeted with a smile. She had taken over the running of the center after Blair Kendall had stepped down, as I’d learned when she interviewed me. “We’re so excited to have you on the team.”
“Thank you.” My answering grin widened when an adorable little girl who looked to be about three years old ran past me.
“I ready to pway,” she shrieked.
Susan crouched down with a laugh. “You’re always ready to play, Renata.”
“She really is,” a woman said from behind me.
Turning, I saw that she was holding the hand of an equally cute toddler boy and was very pregnant. He blinked up at me with sleepy eyes, and my heart melted. “Hey, sweetie. I’m Talia.”
“Tawa,” he echoed before popping his thumb into his mouth.
“That’s right, Austin.” His mom smiled down at him. “Remember, Miss Susan told us Talia was going to start helping in your class today.”
His sister ran over to his side as he nodded and said, “Uh-huh. And she gonna pway with me.”
“Only if you ask her nicely because we don’t boss people around…right?”
“Riiiiiiight,” Renata huffed, rolling her eyes. “No bossin’ round.”
“Thanks for talking to her about that, Dakota. We’ll see how long that lasts.” Susan picked up Austin and settled him on her hip before holding out her other hand for Renata’s.
The little girl slid her palm against my boss’s and beamed a smile at me. “See you later!”
Susan glanced at me. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be back out to get you clocked in and ready to start your first day.”
Renata and Austin’s mom laughed and shook her head. “Fair warning, they’re a handful.”
“But also super adorable.”
“They’re tricky that way, which is how I ended up with another on the way again so soon.” My gaze dropped to her rounded belly, and I felt a pang of envy. Dakota was at most eight to ten years older than me, but she already had two children and was expecting another. “Along with the fact that my husband is irresistible.”
Such a lucky woman. “How far along are you?”
“Tomorrow,” she sighed, shaking her head. “But this little guy doesn’t seem to be in a rush to be born.”
“Aw, you’re having another boy?” She let out a little gasp as she nodded, and I glanced down to see a ripple of movement in her rounded belly. My fingers itched to feel it, so I asked, “Can I touch?”
She nodded with a laugh. “Sure.”
I pressed my hand against her stomach and laughed when there was a thump against my palm. “Oh wow.”
“Yeah, he’s got a heck of a kick.”
“He sure does,” I agreed, my eyes going wide when there was an even harder bump.
She rubbed the side of her belly and let out a low groan. “Now I just need him to kick his way out of my body, metaphorically speaking.”
“I’m sure it must be difficult, but maybe you can think of these last however many days as your last hurrah before you have three kids under the age of four at home.”
“Holy crap, you’re right.” Perking up, she flashed me a grin. “I like how you think. We should be more than just coworkers. We should be friends.”
I smiled back at her. “And I like how you think.”
She snapped her fingers. “We should seize what little time I have left before I’m on maternity leave and go out for dinner tonight.”
“I would love that,” I readily agreed.
“Great, let’s trade cell phone numbers, and I’ll meet you at The End Zone at five thirty,” she suggested. “Since I’m leaving at four today, that will give me enough time for my husband and I to drop the kids off at my parents’ place so they can get some grandparent time tonight.”