Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | Knocked Up by Love |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | Ella Goode |
| Language: | English |
| Book Information: | |
Honey’s on the run. Literally. Under witness protection, Honey has to keep a low profile which definitely means not getting involved with a pro fighter. Even if in his arms she feels safe. Bear Chan knows a little about making money, a lot about hitting people, and nothing at all about being a father. When guardianship duties fall on Bear’s shoulders, he knows that he’s going to need help. Fortunately, he’s found the perfect nanny for his little ward. The bad news is that his new boss (who happens to be a 5-year-old) doesn’t want him to so much as look at Honey for too long, in fear he'll run her off. But that’s simply not possible. Honey Ricci is too sexy and too sweet for this Bear to resist. She already owns him. | |
| Books by Author: | Ella Goode |
Chapter One
Bear
“Mr. Chan do you think my nose is too big?” Paige arrows a finger toward her eye, which I deflect at the last minute with a hairbrush.
“Too big for what?” I pluck the hair tie from between my teeth and slide it over the ponytail I’ve created. Paige turns, and the hair slips out of my grip.
“Too big for my face.” She scrunches her tiny nose and squeezes her eyes shut. “What do you think?”
“I think your nose is the right size for your face.”
Her eyes flip open, and she frowns. “The right size? So not perfect.”
How did I get that wrong? “It’s perfect. A perfect size.” I can feel panic welling in my throat.
“But you said right the first time, not perfect so it's not the perfect size.”
Five-year-old logic is terrifying. “Shannon,” I call. “Shannon!” I need some help in here.
Like a predator sensing fear, Paige can tell the plea to my assistant is a sign of weakness. She makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “You don’t have to lie to me. If my nose is too big, it’s too big.” She sticks her tiny button into the air and turns her back to me. “I’m going to be late for school. We’re painting bunnies with our hands. I don’t want to miss out.”
“Sure.” I swallow a stone in my throat. This isn’t going to work. I can’t believe that I’m this kid’s guardian. I’m not even blood related, but somehow she got dropped in my lap. I’m not equipped for this sort of thing. I’m no dad. I’m a fighter. A guy with big hands that are used to pummeling people’s faces in, not holding hairbrushes. I finally wrestle the ponytail tie into place and give the hair a good tug. It’s off center and too tight, but as long as Paige doesn’t look in the mirror, will she really be able to tell?
My manager, Shannon, appears in the doorway. “Sorry, boss, I was on the phone with the promoter. The weigh-in is next week. They said that the other guy, Fargo, is going to start a fight at the weigh-in but they don’t want you to respond.”
I roll my eyes. Everything is so calculated these days to get ratings. You can’t just stand in a ring and pummel someone until they get knocked out anymore. There has to be a media circus. There has to be a storyline—a hook. I hate that. I’m not an actor. I’m a fighter.
“He doesn’t want to do it,” Paige chirps.
“And how do you know that?”
“Because my daddy always said Mr. Chan didn’t like the extra stuff. Only what went on inside the ring. That’s why I’m here with Mr. Chan. Daddy said Mr. Chan lived a simple life and I wouldn’t be bothered. Isn’t that right, Mr. Chan?” Paige’s button nose is still in the air, but this time there’s an air of challenge, and if I don’t pass this time, the girl is going to walk out on me and find a new guardian. Isn’t that what I want, though? For this five-year-old to leave and let me live my monk life existence of practice, training, diet, and watching gardening shows on YouTube and Netflix? But where would she go? Her daddy, Johnny “the Snake” Derulo, is in the hospital after being run over by his ex-girlfriend. She found out he’d been cheating on her and decided she’d had enough of him. And who could blame her? Johnny is called “The Snake” not because he’s got wicked clever moves but because he’s the type of guy to kick you in the back of the knee when you’re not facing him. If I don’t keep her, where does she go? To some other guy in Johnny’s circle who might not treat her right? Not that I’m treating her right. Hell, I let her have a cupcake for breakfast the other day because I thought she was going to cry.
I rub the back of my hand along my short-cropped hair. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m a boring guy, Paige. Maybe too boring for you.”
The little girl shrugs. “Maybe, but Daddy said I should go to you if anything ever happened to him. You don’t want me to disobey my daddy, do you?”
“I guess not.” She gives me a withering look. “No,” I correct. “You should not disobey your daddy. Time for school then. Don’t want you to be late for bunny painting.”
Paige’s expression changes in a second from almost chiding to blinding excitement. She claps her hands together. “Bunnies! I love them.” She hops out the door like the animal she loves while I follow more slowly.
“I don’t know if I’m up for this, Shannon,” I whisper under my breath as I pass through the door.
She sends me a sympathetic look but has no answers. I am not equipped for this guardian business, but the last I heard, Johnny would be out of commission for three weeks. I can endure anything for three weeks.