Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
That was the part that scared me.
Not wanting Owen.
Wanting this.
Wanting the life I had told myself I didn’t need.
And that was terrifying.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Owen
Something about that dress lit a fuse in my brain. Especially when she wore it while wandering around my home, warming up every room she was in, looking a little too much like she belonged there.
As I sliced the mini potatoes in the kitchen, my mind couldn’t help but imagine her coming back down from putting the baby down for a nap, leaning on the counter beside me as I prepped food.
Then maybe I’d wipe my hands on the towel sitting on the countertop and reach for her, hop her up on the island, pull up her skirt and down her panties, and have myself a little appetizer before dinner.
Alone in the kitchen, I sighed and forced those thoughts away.
Maybe inviting her had been a mistake. Getting all domestic with her when I was already dealing with some complicated feelings toward her. Those had only been amplified by the library dinner with the touches, the dancing, the intimacy we were supposed to be faking, but felt a little too real for me.
Having her here, cooking for her, sharing a meal for her, that was only going to increase an intimacy that shouldn’t be there. It was inappropriate to get involved with a client. Factor in that Willa was an exhausted new, single mom juggling everything on her own and didn’t need me chasing after her. Especially after what had to be a bad breakup, if Adelaide’s father wasn’t even in the picture to be there for her.
I tossed the potatoes in oil and spices and set them in the oven before prepping the asparagus.
When she still hadn’t come back down for her coffee, I decided to bring a cup up to her in case the baby was fighting going to sleep.
When I made it upstairs, I found Adelaide fast asleep in the crib with Tuna stretched out in front of it, protecting her.
But no Willa.
I checked the other guest room before making my way into the primary bedroom.
That’s where I found her.
Sitting on the side of the bed, staring out the windows.
She didn’t turn or start at the sound of my footsteps. I moved further in, and she still didn’t move.
“You okay?” I asked, pressing a hand to her shoulder.
She started at that, her head whipping over to look at me, her gaze a little distant for a second.
“Sorry. I was spaced out there, I guess.”
“You sure? If you need to lie down, the bed’s right here.” Even if the last thing I needed was for the bed to smell like her when I climbed in it later.
“No, no. I’m not tired. Well, not any more tired than I always am nowadays. I was just lost in my head, I guess.”
“Anything you want to talk about?” I asked, passing her her mug of coffee, then sitting down beside her with my own cup.
“It was less one single thing and more like a cyclone of thoughts.”
“Been there.”
“Really?” she asked, looking over.
“That’s a surprise?”
“You don’t strike me as someone who gets worked up over things.”
“Maybe not worked up, but my mind runs away with me sometimes.”
“About what?”
“Anything. Used to be a lot more about work, but that is stable enough for me to need to start thinking about hiring more help.”
“That’s a good problem to have, I guess. But if you’re not worrying about that, what are you worrying about? You know what, no. Sorry. That’s invasive.”
“It’s not invasive. Been thinking a lot about the future lately.”
“Just in general, or specifics?”
“Both. Really want to start taking family more seriously.”
“Your existing family, or making your own?”
“My own.”
“Kids?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
I was going to go ahead and leave off the part where seeing her with Adelaide had switched something on inside me, made it feel imperative that I start working on a family sooner rather than later. And I damn sure couldn’t tell her that sometimes—most of the time—when I pictured that family, it was her and Adelaide I was imagining.
“They’re worth it. I mean, absolutely soul-suckingly exhausting, but so worth it.”
“Yeah, seems that way.”
“I think you’d be a great dad.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I have a big family. Lots of men. And they’re almost always really awkward with the small babies. They’re great with the older, less fragile ones, but the babies freak them out. You’ve been a natural with Adelaide when you’ve needed to pick her up.” She paused, sipping her coffee. “And you’re just very… stable, reliable. Those things are so important.”
Those were qualities I imagined Adelaide’s father didn’t possess. It was no wonder she appreciated them in me.
“And this house would be just perfect for kids,” she added, looking around. “Does it look as amazing covered in Christmas lights as I’m imagining?”