Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
I see Holly struggling to get a marshmallow on her stick, so I step in to help her.
“Hey there, beautiful girl. I haven’t seen you hardly at all today.”
“I was working hard,” she informs me as she watches me wiggle the puffy marshmallow onto a stick for her. “I’m extra hungry.”
“I bet you are. Did you get some chili?”
“Yeah, but now I want this.”
“I get it, trust me. Come on, I’ll help you if you want.”
“Yeah!” Holly bounces on her toes. “Let’s do it!”
“Hey, can I come?” Millie asks, laughing as she tags along. We find a spot on some logs-turned-stools near the fire and sit down. I immediately help Holly put her marshmallow into the fire.
“It’s really warm,” she says. I have my arms around her, helping her hold on to the stick.
“Yeah, you need to be mindful of the fire, okay? We can always get more marshmallows, but we can’t get any more Hollys.”
The little girl giggles and then gasps when her marshmallow catches on fire. I help her blow it out, and then we build her treat.
“I’m gonna go eat with Johnny,” she announces and hurries off. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.” I grin after her and then get to work on my own s’more. I look around for Millie and discover she’s wandered off to talk to a couple of guys on the other side of the fire, so I sit on my stool and layer my chocolate and graham crackers, along with the burned-to-a-crisp marshmallow.
“So, you’re one of those kinds of people, huh?”
I turn as Remington sits on the stool next to mine. “What kind is that?”
“The kind that burns the fuck out of their marshmallow.”
“It’s delicious.” I take a bite and moan in happiness, not oblivious to the way Remington sets his jaw in reaction. “See? Delicious.”
His eyes have dropped to my lips, and before I know it, he’s reached up and is wiping some chocolate from the corner of my mouth.
And there’s that tingle again, the one that seems to pop up whenever I’m close to this man. He’s just so…fuckinghellhot.
“What did you think of today?” he asks. He doesn’t take his eyes off me, and I love the way the fire is reflected in those hazel eyes, lighting up the gold flecks that live in there.
“It was fun. Interesting. Hard work.”
His lips tip up on one side. “It’s all of that. I’m sorry that you gave up your day off to be here.”
“I’m not sorry.” I take another bite and close my eyes when all that gooey, melty sugar hits my system. “I liked being in the kitchen with your mom. She’s a hoot, and she’s so proud of you and your family. I got to meet all of your brothers and your dad, too. And I got to see some of the actual work that goes into this place. It’s so beautiful here, Remington. I didn’t know that a place could be so gorgeous, and that’s kind of saying a lot because I’ve been to a lot of beautiful places.”
“Where was your favorite place to visit?”
“Before I came here? Iceland. But now it’s here. I could be here in Bitterroot Valley for the rest of my days and never get tired of it. I knew the second I landed here that this was where I was supposed to be.”
“How did you know?” He asks as he makes his own s’more.
I lick my lips, thinking it over. “It was deep down, in my gut. In my heart. It was like the universe was welcoming me home, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. Does that sound silly?”
“No.” He shakes his head and looks into the fire. “It doesn’t sound silly at all. When you’re home, you’re home.”
Chapter Eight
Remington
Leave it to me to hire the hottest goddamn nanny on the planet. Her skin is luminous in the firelight, and those green eyes of hers… well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them. She’s fucking gorgeous, and my kids love her.
If she was shitty at the job I needed her to do, I could dislike her, fire her, and send her packing. But no, Erin Montgomery has a rock-solid work ethic, legs that go on for days, and an expressive face that never fails to show me exactly what she’s thinking.
And right now, she wants me to kiss her.
She’s fighting it. That unscrupulous work ethic has her arguing with herself, but she’s been watching my lips since I sat down next to her. She thinks she’s being inconspicuous about it, but she’s not.
And that’s just one of the things that I find attractive about her. There’s no guesswork. What you see is what you get with Erin, and that’s fucking sexy as hell.
“Thanks for not making me feel silly,” she says as she licks the last of the marshmallow from her thumb.