Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“We’ll order out tonight.” His fingers massaged my neck, making me forget my epic failure as his warmth seeped into me. He had such a calming effect on me when he wanted to.
“You don’t have to know how to cook to be a good mother, Brighton,” he continued. “And besides, I’m sure you’ll learn if you really want to.”
“It isn’t fair, though,” I protested.
“What isn’t?” he asked, brushing my hair back over my shoulders.
“You’re smart and beautiful and perfect, and you’ll be able to teach him everything,” I complained. “You don’t even have to try to be a good father. But what do I have to offer?”
Ryland stiffened beneath me, his palm pulling my gaze back to his.
“You really think that?” he asked. “You think I’m going to be a good father?”
I couldn’t believe he even had to ask. I knew he was. But there was a hint of worry in his eyes, and I realized I wasn’t the only one who was afraid. I gave him a soft smile and stroked his cheek, enjoying the way he closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. “An overprotective one, sure. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
His lips found mine, and he kissed me long and hard before pulling back with a lazy smile.
“Brighton, you’re going to be great, I promise you. You already have everything you need.”
“I’m afraid I’ll be like Norma,” I admitted. “I’m afraid I won’t know how to show affection or say the right things.”
“Baby.” He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “You have nothing to worry about. You aren’t anything like Norma.”
He didn’t say it with anger or hatred, but just like he was stating a fact. And it reassured me for some reason.
“What was your mom like?” I whispered.
Ryland frowned and buried his face in my neck, holding me close while the silence stretched between us. I knew he didn’t like to talk about these things, but I wanted him to. I wanted him to remember the good things about his family, and I wanted to know them in the only way that I could.
“She was incredible,” he finally murmured against my skin. “Everything a kid could ask for. The whole cookie-baking, soccer mom, white picket fence Americana. A genius too.”
“Wow,” I remarked. “So that’s where you get it.”
“She was a senior analyst for Selvek Communications back in Chicago when my father met her. But once she had me, she gave it all up to be a stay at home mom. I asked her once if she ever regretted it, but she said it was the best decision she ever made.”
“I’m sure she meant it, Ryland.” I threaded my fingers through his and gave him a shaky smile. “I’m sure they both loved you very much.”
“She didn’t know how critical my father’s finances were,” he said quietly. “I certainly didn’t. He kept up pretenses that everything was okay. He’d sent me to business school and groomed me to take over his company even though he was on the brink of self-destruction.”
It was difficult to imagine why a father would ever turn to men like Frankie’s boss for money. But when I thought about the position he was in, there was a small part of me that tried to understand. He had a family to take care of, one that he didn’t want to let down. I never wanted Ryland to feel that way.
“You know that even if you lost everything, and we had to live in a cardboard box, I’d still be by your side.”
He looked down at me with fiercely possessive eyes and a lazy grin. “I know you would, Brighton. But I’m always going to take care of you.”
His hands started to roam, and I knew we wouldn’t get anything accomplished if I let it go on. So I stood up and walked to the breakfast bar to grab his present.
“What are you doing?”
“I have something for you,” I told him as I took my place back in his lap.
He stared down at the package in my hands with an odd expression before lifting his gaze to mine.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a very belated birthday gift.” I smiled.
He reached towards it tentatively, but there was a hint of impatience on his face. My stomach fluttered as I handed it off to him, and now I had no idea if he was going to like it.
“It’s nothing big,” I said. “So don’t get too excited… I just…”
He reached down and kissed me hard and quick to shut me up. “Shh… don’t do that thing.”
“What thing?” I asked.
“That thing where you try to make it seem like it’s nothing.”
I pouted, and he ripped off the paper, flipping open the book. When he saw the first page and my inscription, the smile slipped from his face and turned to something else. I couldn’t quite make it out, but I knew it wasn’t disappointment.