Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
My shoulders relaxed at her words. She understood. “Exactly.”
That earned me a glorious smile. “Eat up.”
We piled food on our plates and started eating in silence before I felt Molly’s gaze on me. “What?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to apologize about earlier and ogling you. I didn’t mean to—well, I guess I did mean to, but it was inappropriate, and I apologize.”
This woman had to be a fantasy. Maybe I was in a coma and all of this was just a hallucination. Who apologized for staring at a man the way she had? Not one woman I’d ever met. “It’s okay.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not okay. Please, just accept my apology.”
“No.” I smiled at her shocked expression. “You don’t ever need to apologize for appreciating the way I look.”
A blush suffused her cheeks, and she shook her head. “Whatever.”
I laughed, which was something I felt like I didn’t do enough of unless I was with Hunter or listening to the guys’ dirty jokes. “So, Louisiana, huh?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yep. A small town just outside of New Orleans. Close enough to pop in for some fun but far enough away that going felt like a treat. You grew up here?”
“I did,” I said and took a long pull of my beer. “It was just the bison throughout my childhood, but after college I took over and diversified, adding the sheep and goats.” Dad had been adamantly opposed, but he’d stuck to his word that I was in charge.
“Why sheep and goats?”
“Figured we could sneak into the gourmet market with gourmet cheeses of our own, and we sell the milk to other well-known cheese makers.”
“Wow, that’s a great idea. Your parents must be proud.” Her smile and her praise were genuine, and there wasn't one comment about how lucrative the idea was. “I’d love to try one of your cheeses.”
“Soon. I promise.”
Molly nodded and went back to her food for a few bites before she spoke again. “Tell me about your wife. Hunter says he doesn’t remember much.”
“How could he? He was little more than a baby when Sara died.” I shook my head at the unfairness of it all. “We got married young. Sara got pregnant when I was still in college, and so we got married. We lost the baby, and it wasn’t the first.” A bitter laugh escaped. “It was the first of many over the years. We did everything—natural and in vitro—and nothing worked.”
“I’m so sorry, Colton.”
I believed her shaky words. “Finally, we gave up. It cost too much, financially and emotionally. About three months later, we found out we were pregnant. Again. Wonder of wonders, she carried him to term.”
Molly smiled. “Your miracle baby.”
“That’s what Sara called him too.” She’d been so damn happy; we both were. “And at her thirty-seven-week appointment, they found the cancer. She delayed treatment until after she gave birth. Hunter was barely two when she died.”
Her hand went to her heart. “My goodness. She didn’t even get to see him grow up. Heartbreaking. I’m sorry to, um, bring all that up.”
I shrugged it off. “You were curious.”
“Yes and no. Hunter wants to know about her, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a tragic death or something before we started talking. I was thinking we could go through any photos you might have or her parents. Anything so that he can get to know her.”
I stared at this woman who was so much more than a beautiful face and a hot body. She was a good damn person with a big heart, and she was trying to give my boy the one thing I hadn’t even tried.
“Or not. Maybe you can just tell him about her,” she hesitated.
“No, it’s a good idea. I just can’t believe I didn’t think of it.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Colton. You have a lot going on here while also coping with losing her yourself.” She sighed and shook her head, a sympathetic grin on her face. “Just, whenever you get a chance, I’d love to grab some things for him.”
“There are a few boxes in the attic. I’ll get them down for you.”
“Thanks. Now I have an even more serious question.” Her big green eyes stared at me for a long time.
What the hell could be more serious than my dead wife? “I’m listening.”
“How do you feel about chocolate chip cookies?”
My lips spread into yet another smile before a laugh escaped. “Well, the stir-fry was damn delicious, so I’d say I feel curious to try ’em. Let’s start with three and go from there.”
Molly laughed, and it was the sweetest, most feminine sound I’d heard in too damn long.
And I only stared at her ass for five seconds when she went to get the cookies.
Okay, ten seconds.
Fifteen tops.
Chapter 7
Molly
I woke up hot and sweaty after a particularly steamy—super sexy—dream about Colton, which made it impossible to go back to sleep. Every time my eyes drifted shut, there he was with his sexy stubble, his dimpled smile, and sparkling hazel eyes, teasing and taunting me. Amplifying my aroused state until I woke up again and again, hot and aching and itching for some way to relieve the stress.