Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Thomas:
Hey.
How’s it going?
Me:
Not too bad. Just a busy Monday.
But I’m officially on my lunch break, so halfway over.
How about you?
Thomas:
Definitely a Monday.
Getting ready for our run mid-week, and nothing is going as
planned.
Me:
That doesn’t sound good.
Thomas:
It’s all good. We’ll get it. We always do.
You and Ava wanna have dinner with me over at Rooster’s place?
Maggie is making dinner and bought hot cocoa and the Polar Express for the kids.
Me:
That sounds great.
Thomas:
Good deal.
I’ll pick you up at six.
Me:
Great. See you then.
Hey-
Thomas:
Yeah?
Me:
I really enjoyed last night.
Thomas:
That’s good cause there’s more to come.
Lots more.
Me:
Looking forward to it.
That night, Thomas picked Ava and me up, and we all spent a wonderful night together. And over the next couple of weeks, Thomas and I spent more nights together than we did apart. Thomas took me to the clubhouse, where we enjoyed the company of the brothers and several of their old ladies. I had such a great time being back with everyone.
Even more so, I loved watching Thomas in his element. I loved seeing him laughing and having a good time with his brothers, but most of all, I loved how he made me feel like I was the most important person in the room.
It was always like that when we were together. When we went sledding with Rooster and Maggie’s kids, he helped Ava down the hill time and time again, but it was me that he doted on and kissed when no one was watching. He raced Rooster down the hill more times than I could count, but his eyes always found their way back to me.
And when we took Ava to the movies, he bought her popcorn and treats, but it was my hand that he held in his lap. He took such good care of Ava, making sure that she was comfortable and having a good time, and she loved every minute of it. That meant more to me than anything else.
I had no idea what the future held for us, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had something worth holding onto.
Christmas was just a few days away, and things couldn’t have been better. I was starting to get the hang of things at work, and Ava and I were settling into our new routines with Thomas and the club. And one of those routines was our morning goodbyes with Thomas. I had just gathered my things when there was a familiar tap on the front door.
It eased open, and Thomas appeared with a coffee for me in one hand and a Santa cookie for Ava in the other. “You’re going to have to stop spoiling us like this.”
“Not gonna happen.” He would slip in once Ava was in bed and slip out long before she got up, but he always returned with coffee and a special treat for Ava. He walked over and gave me a quick kiss. “I like spoiling my girls.”
I loved it when he called us his girls. There was something about it that warmed my heart and made me want to wrap myself in his arms. I smiled as I told him, “Well, we like you spoiling us, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”
“I don’t do things I don’t want to do, babe.”
“Point taken.” I took a sip of my coffee before asking, “So, the run’s still on for today, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be heading out in a bit.”
“And you’ll be back tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, we should be back at the clubhouse around six... seven at the latest, so I should be back here no later than eight.”
“Great. I’ll fix us dinner. What would you like?”
“How ‘bout some chili or some of that chicken spaghetti you made a couple of weeks ago.”
“Sure, I can do that.” I slipped my arms around his neck and eased up on my tiptoes, kissing him briefly before saying, “Please be careful.”
“Always.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me soft and tender. There was something about his touch that had me aching for more, and that ache only grew stronger when he removed his mouth from mine and said, “I’ve gotta get going. I’ll text when I can.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Count on it.”
Thomas helped me get Ava to the car, and then we were all on our way. I dropped off Ava with my folks, then headed to work. I hadn’t been there long when I got a text from Mia asking if I’d like to go last-minute Christmas shopping with her and Londyn.
I was excited about the opportunity to spend some time with them, so I quickly accepted. I spent the rest of my day trying to think of all the things I needed to buy while I was out. I had most of it figured out, except for what I was getting Thomas for Christmas.