Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
How he’d felt against my hand.
I squeezed my eyes against the assault of it.
One time.
It was one time.
And I was chalking it up to a fantasy.
I couldn’t allow myself to dip my toes any deeper into the treacherous waters I’d already been waist deep in last night. I could already feel the sharp scrape of shame dragging across my conscience.
Maddie reached down and yanked at my hand, trying to haul me straight off the bed. “Come on, Mommy! It’s already eleven and it’s almost afternoon and you are a lazy butt.”
“What?” I shot upright. “It’s already eleven?”
My attention bolted to the clock on my nightstand.
Eleven o’ one.
Crap. I hadn’t meant to sleep that long. Had planned on being up first thing in the morning and acting like last night had never transpired.
Maddie moved to get directly into my line of sight. “It was the time Lolly said I had to wait to before I was allowed to wake you up, but it took one whole minute to get all the way in your room, so I’m very sorry I’m late.”
Inhaling a deep breath, I tried to gather my nerves.
To focus on my daughter.
On what was important.
And that definitely wasn’t the man next door.
The sweet smile Maddie gave me was full of love and belief.
The impact of it dumped directly into my chest.
A squeezing of devotion and loyalty.
A consummate reminder that she was the reason.
My purpose.
I reached out and tucked a wild lock of her warm blonde hair behind her ear. “I’ll be out in a second, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy, but you have to hurry. Breakfast is already all done, and it’s going to be my second breakfast and you can’t miss this one.” The words poured from her mouth as she jumped back to her feet, waving those arms again before she hopped off the side of the bed.
She raced across my bedroom and out the door, untamed curls flying behind her as she shouted, “She’s hurrying, Lolly! Pour her a cup of coffee because you know she is gonna need it!”
Affection bound my chest, and I blew out the strain and forced myself to toss off the covers and get out of bed. I tiptoed to the bathroom, gasping a little as a tremble of last night’s greed vibrated through my body each time my thighs brushed.
It wasn’t like I was sore or tender, but I could still feel the markings of Cody there. Like he’d scored himself on my body.
Written himself deep with those massive fingers.
And there I went, spiraling again.
I flicked on the light and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was matted, knotted and mussed, and my skin was still flushed.
God. I doubted I’d ever be able to erase the man from my consciousness.
But that’d been a risk I’d been willing to take.
The selfishness I’d given into.
The need to feel him once.
It was a need I’d carried for so long. Now that I’d sated it, I prayed it would finally begin to fade.
I splashed cold water on my face and twisted my hair up into a haphazard twist, then I inhaled a steeling breath and walked out into the great room like nothing had changed.
Lolly watched me from where she was pulling biscuits out of the oven. A cunning glee gleamed in her eye. “Well, good morning, sunshine.”
“Good morning. You shouldn’t have let me sleep so late. I guess I really was tired after the long week of work. Sorry about that.”
There.
The perfect excuse.
Lolly chuckled, and her brows lifted in suggestion as I slipped onto a stool at the island across from her.
“I take it you found a ride home last night?” she asked.
I gulped. “Yep, got an Uber. No big deal.”
“Hmm…that Uber sure looked familiar. A big, shiny truck fit for a big, hulking man.”
Crap. Crap. Crap.
I sent her the best glare that I could find. “Tell me you weren’t being nosy and spying on the neighbors again? Because I was in a car. A little white car. An electric one. I was home by eleven. You must not have heard me come in. The car was super quiet. Stealthy. You know, like me.”
It came out a muddled ramble, cracking on the end, and I awkwardly pointed at myself with both thumbs.
Yeah, I was the worst liar ever.
Amusement shook Lolly’s head as she transferred the steaming hot biscuits onto plates then doused them with sausage gravy, the scent sweet and savory filling the air.
My stomach rumbled.
She knew they were my favorite.
“Well, that’s too bad.” She slid a plate in front of me then winked. “I thought you might have worked up an appetite.”
“Gettin’ a reputation, Lolly?” Maddie peeped as she clambered onto the stool next to me, her little elbows propped on the island and her grin beaming at both of us.
“That’s right, little one, I thought your mommy might be earning a reputation.” She placed a plate in front of Maddie, then picked one up for herself and started around the island. “But apparently she doesn’t know how to have any fun.”