Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
She kisses my forehead and then catches my eye. “I’d love to be your girlfriend. No perks required.”
I shrug. “Perks come with it anyway.”
“So . . .” She kisses my lips this time like it’s the first time we’ve kissed—burning heat that will turn into so much more when we unleash it. Plucking her mouth from mine, she wipes just underneath her bottom lip. “What happens now?”
“I don’t know.” I grin, looking ahead, wondering that same thing. “I’m new to this relationship stuff.”
“I thought you’d dated a lot.”
“Define dated.”
My shoulder is whacked under a roll of her laughter. “You’re the worst. I don’t even want to know how you’d define that term.”
“It would be best if you didn’t.” I chuckle and get to my feet while setting her down on her sneakers. Holding her hand, I bring it to my mouth and kiss it twice. “So I’ve been thinking . . .”
The hope in her wide eyes as she leans against me has me hoping she will always see me in this light. “What have you been thinking?”
“I was thinking we should have steaks tonight.”
She escapes and starts marching toward the cottage. “You really are the worst, Daniel Sutton.”
“I may be the worst, but I still got the girl.”
“Fair,” she calls over her shoulder.
Feeling mighty fucking good right now, I walk the rope and start pulling it in. “Come, Roman, we need to get back and clean up before dinner.”
“Do we have to?”
The raft is grounded on land when I walk over and give him a hand up. “You sure did take to the cove life quickly.”
He lands on his feet in front of me. Pointing at the water, he says, “Look out there.”
I bend beside him so I’m eye level, and we take in the ocean. “What do you see?”
“Nothing.” His eyes pivot to mine, and he asks, “Do you hear that?”
Glancing up at the treetops, I ask, “The birds?”
“Yeah, and when they’re quiet, you can hear the wind through the trees.”
I think he had an existential moment out on that raft. “What do you think about that?”
“One day, I’m going to live somewhere I can look out and see for miles and listen to the birds sing.” That’s not New York City . . .
“It’s pretty great, huh?” He nods and throws his arms around me. “I love you, Daddy.”
Wrapping him in a big hug, I kiss the side of his head. “I love you, buddy.”
When he releases me, we start toward the cottage to gather our things. He looks up at me again. “Mom has a boyfriend.”
“I know. David’s nice, huh?”
“Yeah.” He smiles. “But you have Summer.”
I laugh, feeling every bit of the pride and joy that comes with getting the girl of your dreams. “I sure do.”
A message pings on my phone. I stop, pulling it from the pocket of my trunks. I only see the preview of a headline to know I need to check this. Is it Time for Daniel Sutton to Retire? “Go get your stuff together. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I watch my son run inside, then look back at my phone again. Expanding my agent’s message, I scan the article, picking up on words like retirement, best is behind him, what age is too old, and other shit.
This is a hit piece. I can smell it. The ultimatum is back in play, and they’re making sure I follow the rules this time. Fuck that. The only rules I’ll be following are—
“Everything okay?” Summer asks, standing in the doorway.
They can float these retirement ideas out there all they want, feed them to the press by anonymous tips, but no way in hell am I going down without a fight. Fuck them!
If they want to play, let’s do this.
I wave to her. “All good.” It is with her by my side.
CHAPTER 20
SUMMER
“Roman only left one cookie for the elves tonight.” The bedroom is darker than I expected, but enough light trails from the bathroom door being cracked open that I have a clear view of Daniel in bed. It’s a great way to be greeted. “I got it for you.”
His chuckle reaches my ears before my eyes fully adjust. “His teeth are going to rot from eating cookies before bed.”
“We only thought it would be a few nights.” I set the cookie on the nightstand and slip my robe off, hanging it on the hook by the bathroom. Dressed in a thin cotton pajama set, I hip bump his legs to get him to scooch over on the bed. “Not all summer.” I really like having him here. I love the excitement that bubbles up inside me as I get closer to the bedroom, knowing he’s waiting for me. “We could make something else up, if you want. Something that won’t give him cavities and the sweetest of dreams.”