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)
“No, this is good. Thanks!” He jumps from his seat and takes off with Brendan as Ella yells thank you while chasing after her older brother.
Harper comes back and looks around. “Where are the kids?”
“I gave them some money.” I shrug.
“Oh, thanks.” She smiles and sits next to me. “They had an ATM. How much did you give them?” She pulls a twenty dollar bill out of her back pocket.
“Umm…” Shit, was she only going to give them a twenty between the two of them? I laugh to myself. No wonder Hunter looked at me like I was crazy before he ran off. “Don’t worry about it.” I shake my head. “It’s my treat.”
“Okay, thanks,” she says.
“Want to walk around? I bet I can beat you in air hockey.”
Harper grins. “You’re on.”
After getting some dollars turned into coins, we go in search of the air hockey. We run into Ella, who is playing some whack-a-mole game with the twins. Bridget and Simon are standing to the side, watching. Harper asks if she wants to join us, but she says she needs to kill all the moles.
“Not exactly your idea of a night out, huh?” Harper asks as we continue our hunt for the air hockey.
“Actually, it’s my idea of a perfect night out,” I say, knowing exactly what she’s trying to do. But it’s not going to work.
“Oh, c’mon.” She scoffs. “You can say the media only shows one layer of you, but it doesn’t make up where you are. I’ve watched you over the years. At clubs, attending events with models and celebrities and other huge athletes…”
Grabbing the curve of her hip, I pull her into a dark, somewhat deserted corner, pressing her against the wall. “You have to stop going by those pictures,” I tell her. “Yes, I went to clubs and events, but mostly because of the endorsement deals I had with various companies. I got paid to show up and endorse the product. And those women you saw on my arm were nothing more than a one-time date setup by our agents and PR team.” I lean in and kiss her, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth. Her lips are soft and taste like strawberries, and if we weren’t in a public place, I would devour the hell out of her.
“What you saw was all for show. My life consisted of baseball all day, every day. No more looking back. Leave the past where it belongs… in the past.” I know how bad the media makes people like me look. I’ve seen marriages fail over shit that was posted online, but I’m not going to let it come between us. If I have to remind Harper every damn day this is where I want to be, I will.
“Okay.” She nods. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I tell her, kissing her mouth because I seriously can’t get enough of her. “Just please stop trying to find reasons to push me away. I want to be here… with you, and with your kids.”
“Hey, Landon!” Hunter yells, running over to us. I back up slightly, giving Harper some space. “They have a pitching game. Will you come play?”
“Sure, but after, you have to help your mom and me find the air hockey.”
When we get over to the pitching machine, a bunch of kids are standing around. Hunter has a huge cup full of gold coins that he’s digging into to grab a few out of.
“Hunter, where did you get all that?” Harper asks, eyeing the cup.
“Landon,” he says without making eye contact with his mom.
“How much did you give them?” Harper asks, turning to me.
“I don’t know…” I begin, but when Harper gives me that scary as fuck mom look I can remember my mom giving me as a kid—only Harper’s is way fucking hotter—I go with the truth.
“A hundred,” I cough out.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right.” Her eyes glare from the cup back to me.
“A hundred,” I repeat.
“Between the two of them?”
“Each.”
“Landon.” She gasps, then turns to Hunter. “Hunter, did you take a hundred dollars from Landon?”
He winces and shrugs. “Ella did too.”
Harper’s eyes go wide. “She doesn’t understand the difference in value between a dollar and a hundred. Go find her right now, so someone doesn’t mug her!”
Hunter runs off without argument, and I stifle my laugh. I’ve totally been had by a damn twelve-year-old.
“I’m sorry,” I say, reeling her into my arms. “I should’ve asked you first.” I give her a chaste kiss, hoping she’ll go easy on me.
She sinks into me and smiles softly. “I’m not mad at you. What you did was nice. Hunter knows better than that, and he took advantage of you. He will be doing chores to earn back that money since he already turned them all into tokens.” She rolls her eyes. “Little shit.”