Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“Well, we’ll see you in a little while. Are you still dropping them off around five?” Marty asks.
“Yes. You know they wouldn’t miss one of your sleepovers.”
“We love them too.” He chuckles. “Keeps us young.” With that, he throws his arm over his wife’s shoulder and leads her in the opposite direction.
I watch them walk away before going to my girls. All three of them. “You need some help?” I ask Laken. She has her hands full, pushing both girls.
“Yes.” She huffs out a laugh. “These two keep me on my toes.”
“Don’t I know it.” We push the girls for about fifteen minutes, and they lose interest. “All right, we need to get home and get cleaned up and get your bags packed for your sleepover tonight.”
“Waken, you hafta pack a bag too for your sweepover wif Daddy,” Hayden reminds her.
“You’re right. How about you come up to my apartment, and you and your sister can help me pack?”
“Yay!” They jump up and down with excitement.
The walk back to Laken’s store is filled with chatter from the girls and lots of smiles and waves from the townspeople. I can only imagine what Tate is going to have to say about today’s outing. Not that it bothers me. Laken and I are solid. Besides, Tate isn’t about breaking up relationships. She is more about bringing them to the surface, helping bring people together.
“Thank you for dinner,” Laken says as we make our way out of Sauce It Up, an Italian restaurant that sits behind her bookstore one block over.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been there. It was good.”
“Definitely. I can smell it from my apartment, and sometimes I can’t resist ordering something and picking it up.”
“You never dine in?”
“Sometimes, but never by myself. It feels weird. Besides, this town talks. I swear the walls have eyes. Can you imagine the ladies that would be trying to fix me up with their sons, or nephews, or hell, their neighbor’s son?” She laughs. “I’ll pass.”
“Good thing you ate there with your boyfriend tonight. Wouldn’t want anyone trying to take my girl.”
“Trust me, Gray, you have nothing to worry about. I’m right where I want to be.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask as we approach my truck. “I have somewhere I’d like you to be.”
She turns to face me. “Where’s that?”
I lean in close, my lips a breath from hers. “In my bed.” Placing my hands on her hips, I move her body closer to mine, and she melts against me.
“Let’s do that,” she says, smiling up at me.
“You sure? The night’s still young.”
“Take me to bed, Grayson.” The words are a husky whisper from her lips.
“My pleasure.” I kiss her quickly before reaching around her and pulling open my truck door for her.
“You want me to drive my car? So you don’t have to take me home?”
“No. I want you with me.” She nods, and I know she’s picked up on this fear I have of something happening to her. It’s not a constant, but anytime she talks about driving, it presents itself.
The drive to my place is short, and the anticipation of what’s yet to come is coursing through my veins. I’m keyed up, and if the way her leg is bouncing is any indication, she is as well. Our relationship has been a whirlwind. We fell hard and fast. We love each other, and now we’re about to take that love, take our relationship to a deeper level.
I know I’m not the normal male population, but I like the fact that the first woman I made love to ended up my wife, and now the second, well, she holds my heart now. Casual has never been my thing. I have two little girls who require me to be serious. I won’t risk their hearts on a casual relationship. Before them, Holly was the only woman I could see.
Pulling into my driveway, Laken has her door open and is climbing out of the truck before I have a chance to tell her to wait for me. Springing into action, I grab my keys and follow after her. When I reach where she’s standing, she holds her hand out for me, and I don’t hesitate to take it. Together, we make our way into the house. We kick off our shoes, and I lock the door before I lead her blindly down the hall to my room. Thankfully there are no toy mishaps along the way. Nothing hurts worse than stepping on one of those little plastic Barbie shoes with your bare feet.
Once we’re in my room, I walk to the bathroom and turn on the light, positioning the door just so there is a soft glow in the room. “I want to be able to see you,” I explain when she gives me a questioning look.