Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Colton watches us. He’s holding Ethan in his arms while he sleeps, but he’s wary of the ocean’s power and keeps his eyes on us the whole time.
Connor tugs me into his arms, kissing my mouth, all heat and strength and rasping facial hair. He looks so different from how he did when we first met. He’s lost the hard edges, softened by the sunshine, and a life without danger. He’s even lost some of the watchfulness he had when he first escaped, although he’s kept in the habit of bleaching his hair and wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap whenever he’s outside. Being conscious of your appearance must be hard, but he takes it in his stride. I love his beard and the way it scrapes my skin.
He looks older in a good way. More mature. A sexy daddy.
He laughs when I call him that when Ethan’s around. He growls when I whisper it in his ear when we’re alone.
“You getting tired?” he asks. We’ve been jumping the waves for about fifteen minutes like overexcited kids.
“Yeah. And cold!” I shiver even though the sun is bearing down. He wraps me against his body, which is still like a furnace despite the chill of the water, and then he picks me up and carries me out of the ocean like a blushing bride. I swat at him, laughing. “I’m capable of walking, you know.”
“For the love of God, will you let me indulge my inner caveman? What’s the point of these—”
“Muscles.” I pinch his thick bicep, and he hugs me tighter, pinning my arms.
“Stop wiggling, or I’ll have to tie you up later.” His threat sends a shiver of heat and cool right through me, building anticipation. Our hotel suite has a headboard that would handle just that.
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind.”
He lowers me to my feet when we’re on the shore, and I jog over to Colton to peek at our son. The baby is his—we found out a few weeks ago—so it’s extra fitting that he chose the name. Ethan shares his father’s seriousness and quiet, observant character. He smiles like his dad, too. His eyes are mine, and I think he has my feet, although it’s probably too early to tell.
Connor is going to try to get me pregnant next. He’s older than James, so it makes sense, but they’re all caring for Ethan. He has three daddies, and it’ll be the same for the next two children we bring into our family.
Kennedy rises from the sunbed and ties a bright floral sarong around her waist. “Will you watch the kids for me?” she asks.
“Where are you going?”
She grins sheepishly. “I need a drink.”
“Of course you do!”
Since we arrived for a mini vacation two days ago, she’s been flirting with one of the barmen at the beach bar. Alvaro is gorgeous, and he’s taken a shine to my sister. If she does hook up with him, it’ll probably be just for fun, but I hope he’ll show her a good time, and she remembers how awesome she is. Her ex really did a number on her confidence.
“Bring me back a soda,” I say. “And three beers for these thirsty men.”
“Sure.”
She saunters off, looking like the carefree girl she was before a relationship, and motherhood wore away some of her sparkle.
“Your sister seems happier,” Colton remarks.
“She is. You know, she told me she’s considering moving close to us.”
“That’ll be good for her and for you.”
“I’d love our kids to be raised together.”
“Family’s important.” He gazes down at Ethan with so much pride that I get a lump in my throat.
I wish we had more family between us, but no one chooses the family they’re born into. We’ve chosen the family we want to have, and it’s better than any I could have imagined before I became desperate enough to sell myself at auction.
Colton’s sister still hasn’t accepted his innocence, and I don’t think she ever will. Even if she did, we could never invite her to spend time with us. The risk to Connor would be too great and Colton would always put him first. Four weeks ago, a man who looks a lot like Colton was arrested in Holdridge for a string of rapes like the one my lover was wrongly convicted of. He hasn’t admitted guilt, but I say a secret prayer every night that a confession will remove the stain from Colton’s name. We’ve moved on, but there are some splinters that remain embedded deeply and this is one of them. He deserves to be cleared, and the victim deserves real justice.
Connor’s mom was so uninvolved in his life before he escaped, that he decided not to contact her again. It’s better she doesn’t know where he is. The people who love us make sacrifices willingly. They don’t walk out to make a new life for themselves, without looking back.