Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“Glad I could be of service.” Because what else was there to say to her thanking him?
Before he could remove the condom and help her from the tub, she climbed out on her own and went directly to the lounge chair holding her towel and robe.
Once he followed her out of the water and turned off the jets, the back porch fell into awkward silence.
When a shiver ripped through him, it jump-started them both. She pointed to the dry towel on the chair. “It’s cold. Wrap that around you. I’ll use my robe.”
He didn’t even look at where she pointed. Instead, he watched her hide her damp, naked lusciousness by wrapping the thick terrycloth robe tightly around her and cinching the belt tight.
After clearing her throat, she said, “Morning will be here before we know it,” and headed toward the back door.
That was it?
Thank you and morning will be here before we know it?
What the actual fuck?
“Sloane,” he called out softly. Was he ready for this night to end?
Did he have a choice?
She paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Hmm?”
The only answer he could come up with was, “Goodnight.”
For fuck’s sake.
Before he could come up with anything better, she gave him a slight tip of her head and a whispered, “Goodnight.”
She left him standing out in the cold, naked and dripping wet. Holding a condom full of the braincells he must have lost when he came.
“Why don’t you go get ready for school?” Sloane urged Val as she gathered the dirty breakfast dishes from the kitchen table.
“I need help pickin’ out my clothes.”
That was a given. Since the second morning living with the Deckers, she had nixed every outfit Val had picked out on her own. Sloane would go in, see what Val had laid out and then gently suggest other pieces of clothing that made more sense and explain why.
Sloane stacked the dishes in the sink so she could rinse them off before filling the dishwasher. “Okay, why don’t you go and I’ll be there in a few minutes to help. I just want to finish clearing the table first.”
She expected an answer but instead, Val squealed, “Mornin’, Daddy!” making Sloane jump.
“Mornin’, pumpkin,” came the gravelly, sluggish answer.
Once Sloane swallowed her heart back down into her chest, she glanced over her shoulder to see the little girl squeezing the stuffing out of Decker with her pixie face all lit up. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The girl certainly loved her “daddy.”
He had squatted down to hug Val, but his eyes were locked on Sloane as he stood.
The man had severe bed head and pillow creases on one side of his face. He clawed at his scruffy beard in an attempt to tame it, since it looked like a bush after it was struck by a vehicle. The T-shirt he wore was definitely too tight and his sweatpants…
Eyes up, Sloane.
She swore those gray sweatpants were like catnip to her kitty.
It was even worse now that she had seen—and experienced—firsthand what that soft gray cotton covered…
She pinned her thighs together and turned back to the sink.
“Go get ready for school,” came the low grumble. And that voice made her kitty purr, too.
Damn it.
“Do you want coffee?” she asked, keeping her back to him so she wouldn’t zero in on his gray cotton-wrapped package.
“You have to ask?”
She pulled a mug from the cabinet above the coffeemaker and filled it. She didn’t bother to add any sugar or creamer since the last few mornings, he took it black.
When she turned and offered the mug to him, he accepted it, took a sip, closed his eyes and released a long sigh.
“Breakfast?” she asked.
“What did Val have?”
“An Eggo.”
“What did you have?” he asked next.
“Two Eggos.”
He raised a single eyebrow. “What am I having?”
“Three Eggos.”
He chuckled. “I can pop those suckers into the toaster oven myself if you need to help Val pick out an outfit that doesn’t make her look like her closet’s full of clothes found while dumpster diving.” He met her eyes over the rim of his mug. “Or I can do it, if you want.”
“If you’re going to help her before you get your daily fix of caffeine, she won’t look any better than if she dressed herself.”
“Damn. You haven’t even been here a whole week yet. How have you figured us out already?”
“I saw how she was dressed the first morning.”
His lips twitched as he put the mug to them and took another sip of the still steaming coffee. “Are you saying I don’t have enough fashion sense to dress a four-year-old?”
“I didn’t have to say it. You just did.”
“And what’s wrong with bright pink leggings, green sneakers, a yellow tutu and a purple polka-dotted top?”
“Nothing, if you’re Rainbow Bright.”
His brow wrinkled. “Who’s that?”
Sloane shook her head. “Actually, she’s the perfect mentor for Val. Forget I said anything. When you’re done eating, just put your dishes in the sink. I’ll take care of them once I get back from dropping her off at preschool.”