Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Go home,” I say, looking over to make sure I see Penelope. She is with Xavier as he carries her on his shoulders into the deep water.
“So you are staying in Dallas?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“No, I meant go back home to Canada. I have a house in Muskoka, right on the lake. My parents don’t live far from there so…” I tell her of the little lake cabin I have, and by little, it’s a ten-bedroom house right on the lake. I love it so much. It’s just so peaceful there.
“That sounds like so much fun.” She smiles at me, and the need to kiss her is so much stronger than it’s ever been before. The need to touch her and just be next to her is growing so much, it’s only going to be a matter of time before I ruin it all by admitting to her how I feel. I could never take advantage of her like that. I could never cross that line with her because she means so much to me, and the thought of losing her is just unbearable.
“It really is. I have a trainer there who comes over every day. I train in the morning, and then in the afternoon, it’s either hiking, or I take Penelope fishing.” I smile, thinking about how much fun we have there. “It’s a dream, and it’s so peaceful.” I look at her. “You should come up sometime.” The minute the words come out of my mouth, I want to take them back. Why the hell would I say that? It’s not that I don’t want her there, but I don’t know how I can last living in the same house as her. “I mean, if you are ever in the area.”
CHAPTER NINE
ABIGAIL
Did he just invite me to go to his house in Canada? My brain screams at me as my mouth wants to ask, “When is a good day for you?” But instead, I take another small sip of my pina colada. “Your house sounds like a dream,” I finally say, “and not going to lie, I might be a bit jealous of you missing the summer heat in Dallas.”
He chuckles and takes a sip of his drink, and all I can do is wish I was a fucking plastic straw. This is insane. From the minute we started building the sandcastle together, my body has been on fire. I’m blaming the sun for it, but the truth is that it’s all him. I want to climb him like a monkey climbs a tree, wrap my legs around him, and basically hump him to the ground. The thought of me humping him makes my head spin, and I stare into my drink to avoid him looking at me. If he knew what I was thinking right now he would be so grossed out.
“It’ll be nice to get away from the heat,” he confirms. “Not going to lie, we went back to Canada during the winter break, and I swear my blood has gotten thinner. I was frozen the whole time.”
I can warm you up. The words almost slip out of my mouth, but I catch them just in time.
“Dad.” I hear Penelope from behind me and look over at her. “Watch!” she yells as she stands up on Xavier’s shoulders as he holds her ankles until she jumps off. Xavier takes two steps forward to make sure he can grab her. She smiles at Tristan and then swims over to us. “Did you see?”
“I did.” He puts his hand out to grab her and pull her to him.
“Did I make a big splash?” she asks, and he lies to her.
“So big, I felt it here,” he fibs, and then I just look at the two of them.
“I’m going to head out and take a nap. All this playing in the sun,” I say, “it’s rough.”
“I’m not tired at all,” Penelope declares to me, and I just laugh.
“The joys of being eight,” I say and get up, walking out of the water and to one of the daybeds. I spot Gabriella sitting down with Erika, Franny, and Vivienne so I make my way over there.
“What did I miss?” I ask, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my waist before looking around for a chair to drag over. I sit down in the shade, looking at Gabriella lounging on the daybed. Her camera is right next to her in her hand.
“I got a couple of candid shots of you guys building a sandcastle.” She tells me, looking out toward the water. “I got a couple of good shots of Xavier tossing Penelope into the water also.” She looks back at me as I lie down next to her. “We are having the welcome barbecue on the beach in two hours,” Gabriella informs me.