Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“My salt is good and I don’t want garlic or lemon juice in this. I think we need to see how it tastes with the ravioli.”
I plated four servings of the cheese ravioli I’d made this morning and topped each with some sauce.
“Kids, time for a taste test!” Holt called out.
Spencer and Marley came running and we all stood at the kitchen counter with our dishes, Holt counting down until we could all take our first bite, which had become our tradition this week.
“Three...two...one...go for it.”
Marley nodded enthusiastically. “I love this.”
“What do you love about it?” I asked her.
“The ravioli and the sauce.”
I exchanged an amused look with Holt. The kids said they loved everything I made and never said anything critical. They liked feeling like a part of creating recipes, though.
“I like the sauce because it tastes really good,” Spencer said. “Can I eat all of this?”
“Absolutely, eat up. Do you want more sauce?”
He nodded and said, “Yes, please.”
“Who’s willing to try some roasted walnuts on theirs?” I asked.
The kids preferred it without the nuts and Holt and I preferred it with. Holt made notes on his paper and the kids went back to the theater room to watch their movie.
As soon as they were out of earshot, he gave me a knowing smile.
“Already knew you wanted the nuts before you even tasted it.”
My cheeks warmed as I moved my plate of unfinished ravioli over by the sink. School would be starting in a week, so the kids had been having a lot of sleepovers with their grandparents in the month Holt and I had been together.
That meant we’d been having a lot of sleepovers, too. We couldn’t get enough of each other.
His years of traveling for hockey had conditioned Holt to wake up early every morning, no matter what time he’d gone to bed. Every morning that we woke up alone at his house, we went out to the deck and watched the sunrise together, then showered together and made breakfast.
I’d finally reached a point where my hips and legs didn’t ache with soreness all the time from all the sex we had. He was a rock star in bed, teaching me things about my own body I never would have known.
“Is it okay if I invite Grady and Avon over for dinner tonight?” I asked him. “I want to try out a couple of pasta recipes.”
“Of course. Need me to make a run to the store?”
“If you don’t mind.”
He came over and kissed me. “I never mind.”
I smiled up at him, hoping I’d always get the butterflies I did when he looked at me this way.
“I was also thinking I might do that sleepover with Marley tonight. In the castle.”
He gave me an apologetic look. “I don’t want you sleeping on the floor, babe.”
“I don’t mind. When I had time for camping, I slept on the ground.”
“She’ll be really excited. And you can always sneak out once she’s asleep.”
I shrugged. “No reason to. There’s nothing else to see or do in this house.”
“Oh really?” His eyes sparkled with amusement as he wrapped his arms around my waist, squeezing my ass. “I’ll give you eight inches of something to do. How about that?”
He wasn’t exaggerating. I truly was the luckiest woman in the Beard.
“I could eat this every day,” Avon said, scooping up another bite of creamed tortellini.
“Yeah, it’s really good,” Grady agreed.
“Thanks. You don’t mind the spinach?”
Grady side-eyed his wife. “She’s got me eating spinach every other night at home. I had to accept it or starve.”
I laughed, remembering how much my brother had always hated spinach.
“Good for you,” I said to Avon. “Spinach is so healthy, and it has a great depth of flavor.”
“Avon, do you want to come to our sleepover tonight?” Marley asked.
“Me?” Avon smiled. “I would be delighted to come, thank you.”
Marley sent me a gap-toothed smile. “It’s in my castle.”
“Nice. We’re all queens who belong in castles anyway.”
“Uh, the castle is for reading and you’ll be sleeping on the floor,” Holt said.
Marley rolled her eyes. “There are lots of pillows in there, Daddy.”
I hid my smile. Marley had opened up to me a lot in the past month, and I wasn’t going to turn down any invitation she offered me.
“You want to watch the game tonight?” Holt asked Grady.
“Sure. I’ll have to go home to let the dog out at some point.”
My brother had come a long way in the past month, too. He initially wanted to fight Holt for being in a relationship with me, which was absurd but also classic Ryan Grady. Slowly, though, he’d lightened up after spending time with the two of us and the kids.
“Okay, it’s time for linguini with vodka sauce,” I said, standing up.
“Let me just loosen my belt first,” Grady grumbled. “I just ate an entire plate of the tortellini.”