Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Nothing.” She sighs. “I’m just being stupid and emotional.” She rolls her eyes, trying to play off whatever’s wrong, but I’m not buying it.
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“Richard texted me this morning while I was in yoga that he has a medical conference he has to go to, so he won’t be able to take the kids next weekend.” She laughs humorlessly. “He actually asked me to go with him and offered to pay for a spa day at the resort he’s going to be at. Said he would watch the kids while I’m there.” She snorts. “As if I would ever go away with him…”
Fucking dick… I knew he would attempt this bullshit. He made it clear he wants Harper back, but what he’s too dense to acknowledge is that he’s already lost her and he’s never going to get her back. If she wanted to be with him, I’d never stand in the way of a couple getting back together, especially when the couple has kids. But Harper doesn’t want him, and the only reason he wants her is so he can go back to doing what he wants while having his family at his fingertips. Harper and the kids deserve better than that. They deserve to have someone’s full attention. To be someone’s everything. To be put first and not be an afterthought.
“It’s no big deal,” she says with a sad smile. “I didn’t really need to go.” She shrugs, then pulls out of my arms and walks over to the table to join everyone.
“The kids can stay with me,” Simon says as we sit down. Bridget must’ve filled him in.
“And leave you with five kids?” Harper laughs. “I really appreciate it, but I can’t do that to you.”
“I can stay with them for the weekend,” I offer. Everyone glances in my direction.
“Yeah,” Hunter agrees. “We can hit the batting cages.”
“No!” Ella argues. “He can play on the balance beam with me and we can have a dance party!”
Hunter’s nose scrunches up in disgust. “Landon is a man, El. He’s not playing girly things with you.”
“That’s not—”
“Whoa,” I say, cutting Ella off. “One, there are many men who do gymnastics and are professional dancers.” I give Hunter a pointed look, and he shrugs. “And two, if your mom says I can stay with you guys, we can do all that. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. But we can’t put her on the spot like that. We’ll discuss it later.”
“Fine,” they both say in unison.
When I look over at Harper, her lips are curled into a small smile. “We don’t have to discuss it later,” she says. “If you’re okay with staying with them, then I’m okay with it.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”
The waitress comes over and we place our order. While we’re talking, a few kids come over and ask for my autograph. I stand and take a few pictures with them, and their mother thanks me.
“Why do people always ask for you to sign things?” Ella asks.
“Because he’s a famous baseball player,” Hunter says. “He won the World Series. He’s the best pitcher ever.”
I laugh at Hunter’s explanation. “While I appreciate that, I’m hardly the best pitcher, ever.”
He shrugs as the waitress sets our food on the table. “Pretty much. Plus, you’re the reason they won the World Series. You’re the Clutch Player.”
“What’s that?” Ella asks.
“It’s when a player is badass and saves the day,” Hunter explains. “He’s like the superman of baseball.”
“Watch your mouth,” Harper chides.
“Can you come to my dance camp?” Ella asks. “My dance teacher loves baseball and he always wears a Reds shirt. I bet he would give me the front spot in the dance if you signed something for him.”
“Of course,” I tell her, while everyone cracks up laughing.
“Ugh,” Harper chokes out. “I think there’s something wrong with my sandwich.” She sets the sandwich on the plate and pushes it back.
I grab her tuna melt and take a bite. “It tastes good,” I tell her. “Want to switch?”
“You sure?” she asks, eyeing my turkey, bacon, and avocado club sandwich.
Even if I wasn’t, I would still switch with her. Hell, I would order this entire menu, just so she could taste test everything and decide what she wants.
Without responding, I switch our plates, and Harper smiles. “Thanks,” she says, taking a bite of my sandwich. “You really are my white knight.”
Twenty-Eight
Harper
“This is exactly what I needed,” Bridget says through a moan as the nail technicians massage our calves and feet. “If I were rich, I would pay someone to come to the house and massage my feet every day.”
Calliope and I giggle.
“Same,” I agree, closing my eyes and thinking about how relaxing today has been. Bridget, Calliope, and I drove up in one vehicle last night. After checking in, we went to the restaurant for dinner, where we gossiped for hours before going back up to our room and crashing. It was nice to be able to talk with other adults without the kids around.