Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“What kind of satisfaction are we talking about here?” I asked with a flutter of my lashes.
His lips brushed the outer shell of my ear, making me shiver. “Whatever you want, little firecracker. I know how needy you can get when you’re carrying one of my babies.”
“Which is a big part of why you keep knocking me up.” Dropping my hand down to cover my rounded belly, I murmured, “If this one’s a boy, I’m going to spend even more time at the track, aren’t I?”
He gave me a comforting squeeze as the green flag was lifted in the air. “Probably.”
“At least I can take comfort in the fact that Adira has zero interest in bikes.” Our little princess didn’t like anything that got her dirty.
“And she never will, if I have anything to say about it,” he muttered as the race started.
I knew where he was coming from since it was already tough to watch our oldest out there. I still would’ve given him a hard time for treating our daughter differently than our son, but I knew if Adira truly wanted to give BMX racing a try, Aiden would run out and buy her a pink bike—her favorite color—and matching safety gear. Our little girl had her daddy wrapped around her pinky finger. Same with my big brother, which was why I knew she was perfectly happy hanging out with Kyle and Cat’s kids while we were at the track with Ajax today.
The green flag dropped, signaling the start of the race, and I reached over to interlace my fingers with Aiden’s. I’d learned a lot about BMX racing from my husband, but I was still so scared something would happen to Ajax. It didn’t matter that today’s course was tailored toward three- and four-year-olds. Moms were allowed to worry about whatever they wanted when it came to their children, especially when they had pregnancy hormones coursing through their veins.
The kids surged forward on their bikes, with Ajax quickly taking the lead. Aiden and I cheered loudly, along with the other parents. About twenty seconds after the race began, our son claimed his first BMX victory. “Great job, Ajax,” I congratulated him, flinging my arms around his little body to give him a big hug after he took off his helmet.
His grin was huge, and happiness shone from his green eyes that were just like his daddy’s. “Thanks, Mommy.”
“You did awesome, buddy.” Aiden ruffled our son’s blond hair.
Ajax smiled even bigger, his little chest puffing out. “Uh-huh, I winded.”
“Yup, you won,” I agreed. My gentle correction of his grammar flew right over his head, which was to be expected since he was too excited about getting his first trophy. He wrapped each of his hands around one of ours and practically dragged us over to the table where they were sitting. His little body squirmed as Aiden handed out the awards for second and third place, and then it was finally his turn. Ajax’s eyes lit up with joy when his dad handed him the first place trophy that was almost half as tall as he was.
I leaned closer to Aiden and whispered, “You picked that one because you knew he was going to win, didn’t you?”
“Yup, he really is a natural,” he murmured as we watched Ajax squat down to peer at every inch of his trophy. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to watch him in the Olympics someday.”
“Totally fine by me.” I elbowed him in the side. “Just so long as he never follows in his daddy’s footsteps and races Dune’s Point.”
Extra Epilogue
Rider
“This is all your fault,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched our four-year-old, Anika, strap a sparkly purple helmet onto her head.
“What can I say, babe?” Wendy slipped her arm around my waist, and I automatically pulled her snug into my side. “Racing is in her genes.”
Her tone was smug, and I was aware that she was taking great pleasure in this role reversal. I remembered all too well how she’d reacted when Ajax had entered his first race. I’d been so relieved that our second oldest, Adira, had never shown a speck of interest in bikes or racing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky with the next one.
Anika had taken to riding every bit as fast as Ajax, and she was just as talented. But that didn’t stop me from being nervous as fuck to see my baby girl in a race.
The kids were instructed to line up, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. “How are you so calm about this when you were freaking out last time?” I growled, annoyed that I was acting like a damn pussy on the verge of a panic attack.
“I’m concentrating on how fun it is to get such amazing payback,” she said with a smirk.