Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“When can we see Daddy again?”
Every time she called him that, I got this strange fluttering sensation in my stomach. A good feeling, a… rightness I hadn’t expected.
“That’s a good question. I guess you can call him and ask if you want.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Let me find my phone,” I said.
I was forever losing it now. I used to keep it close in case I needed to call the police. I didn’t need it like that anymore.
I hit the call button and handed her the phone.
“What’s the camera button do?” she asked. But before I could explain, she’d hit it. And now she was video calling York.
He answered on the third ring, his handsome face filling the screen.
“Hey, princess,” he said, making Denny beam at him.
“Hi, Daddy.” I saw the wonder fill his eyes at that title. I still felt it on occasion when Denali said it. “When can I see you again?” she asked. Then, before York could answer, she gasped. “Is that a pool?”
Uh-oh.
I knew where this was going.
“Yeah,” York, clueless, said, pulling the phone further away from his body so she could see it better.
“Mama, Daddy has a pool!”
“I see that.”
“Can I swim in it?”
“Can you swim?”
“She cannot,” I said.
“But I have swimmies! Right, Mama?”
“She does have swimmies.”
“Maybe you and your mom can come over and play in the pool sometime.”
“Today?” Denali asked.
I knew there was no way he was going to say no when she was already so excited. I was going to need to dig out her swimsuit and swimmies.
“I think we need to ask your mom if—”
“I’m already mentally trying to locate her swimmies,” I said.
“There are some around here,” he said, making my brows pinch. Why did he have swimmies at his house? Did he have other kids? Or just nieces and nephews?
“And tubes?” Denali asked.
“Those too. Have a giant flamingo one.”
I interrupted Denny before she could go off on questions about tubes. “What time would be good for you?”
“Anytime,” he said. “I’ll be here.”
“Okay. I’ll just get Denny suited up and sun-blocked and we’ll be over.”
It was the middle of the week.
He was home sitting around the pool and made it clear he could do so all day.
Why wasn’t he at work?
What did he do for work?
Clearly, he had a good job if he could afford to get us an apartment while living somewhere else. And dropping hundreds on toys and arcade games.
Did he work remotely? Or did he own a business?
I’d made a whole human being with this man, and I knew next to nothing about him other than he was patient, generous, rode a motorcycle, and could give me an unholy number of orgasms in a row.
I didn’t expect that last part to pop into my head. Nor did I anticipate how strongly my body would react to the sudden memory. It was breath-stealing realizing how hard desire pressed on me, begging to be noticed, to be satisfied.
Because, yeah, there were no men in my life once I knew Denali was on board. How could there be? The first few months of her life were a sleep-deprived, achy blur. Then it was all juggling work, motherhood, and trying to figure out our future. After that, it was survival, living life on the road and in motels, trying to keep us fed and clothed while we kept losing everything when we had to up and leave on a dime.
The last thing I needed during all of that was a man complicating things more.
Though, clearly, my body had been keeping score of how long it had been. And remembering how efficiently York could make it all better.
I did my best to shake those thoughts away as I helped Denali into a one-piece suit with long sleeves, so I had less area to worry about burning, added her sunscreen, grabbed a change of clothes, then got myself changed as well.
I did trust York, but pools were a whole different beast with kids. You couldn’t look away for a second. Which meant I was getting in the pool too.
My suit was also a one-piece, all black, with white straps and border. It was straight out of the ‘90s. Because it probably was. Like virtually everything I owned, it was thrifted. I added my own sunblock, tied up my hair, pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, then hauled Denali’s bag of toys she insisted on bringing with us.
When we got there, York was waiting in the driveway beside another man who was a little shorter, a little softer in his frame, with a round face, tanned skin, and a bright smile.
“Heya, princess,” he greeted Denali as she rushed out to say hello to him.
I lagged behind, grabbing the bags, only to have York lift them from my arms.
“This is Eddie. Eddie, Runa.” Clearly, Denali had already said hello.