Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Peaches had no idea how beautiful she was in her righteous anger. A part of me wanted to fall at her feet, admit my wrongdoings, and beg for her forgiveness. But I was a rotten man, unworthy of being with an honest soul like her. I was a fucked-up playboy whose paid ex-lover dumped a kid in his lap.
God, how I wished I’d never walked into the coffee shop and met her. The memory of our encounter has tortured me with regret. The regret of walking away and knowing it was my only choice. Now, she had to see the reality of who I was—the broken version of me, not the man I could’ve been before the accident twenty years ago. I’d sealed my fate in life that day.
I was curious about something, though.
The look on her face as I opened the door and our eyes met. I couldn’t get it out of my head. Her face was turned up and her eyes danced with excitement.
Me? A punch to the gut would’ve been less than the force of seeing her standing outside my door. It was like the breath was knocked out of me.
“You didn’t look shocked to see me?”
“Tessa showed me a photo of you. She and Barclay gave me a warning too. I’m sure you can imagine what they said.”
I raised my brow, though I was certain what the two of them had told her about me, especially since Barclay had made me promise not to touch her. He had been right to demand that of me. She was the kind of woman a man didn’t want to just touch, but devour.
“Yet you came anyway.”
“I was hoping to meet Herb again. I like him. But he’s been abducted by a rich, selfish billionaire.”
I couldn’t argue with her there. “The man you met before doesn’t exist, Maggie.” I gazed at her with cold eyes, convincing myself it was for the best.
“Apparently not. And I’ll go by nanny. Less personal.”
She drew the kid closer to her chest. Her Eternal Optimist T-shirt inched up her stomach, revealing creamy skin. Add her long bare legs, and it was too much for me to take, so I turned my head away from her, inspecting my bed. Then, it hit me in the face. Where in the fuck would she sleep? Or the kid?
Everything I had for the baby was in the bag on the kitchen island. Coco dumped her child on me knowing full well I didn’t have a damn thing for an infant.
“I guess you’ll need a place to lay the baby down for the night.”
“I’ll lay her down on the bed, prop pillows around her so she doesn’t roll over.” With the baby secured in one arm, she grabbed her cell phone out of her back pocket with the free one. “I’m going to order a portable crib type thing on Prime Now. Also more diapers, wipes, a few extra outfits, and bottles. We should have everything by eight tomorrow morning.”
“Keep track of the costs. I’ll reimburse you.” I was about to leave the room, when I remembered I hadn’t eaten yet. “Have you had dinner?”
“I was going to before I met someone for a drink. Then you called Barclay and the rest is history.”
“I thought you were on a boycott.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. She jerked her head up, eyes boiling with anger.
“Yeah. About that. It’s none of your damn business, Mr. Shaw. As your employee, who I date isn’t any of your concern.”
I stepped toward her, knowing full well I shouldn’t. But the smirk on her face baited me and I couldn’t stop myself.
“Was he someone you met on one of those obnoxious dating apps?”
“Again, not your business.”
I’d had enough of thinking about her with someone else. Not that I had any right, but it burned me up inside nonetheless.
“I’m ordering Thai. Standard fare. Let me know what you’d like. I’ll be in the living room.”
I made a quick retreat, escaping her and the kid. I switched on a lamp near my couch. The room was still dark since the sun had set a couple hours ago. I sat on the couch and buried my face in my hands. It was the first quiet moment I’d had since I’d arrived at Knave. No Coco. No screaming baby. Just my rambling thoughts, running scenarios in my head.
What if this kid was mine?
What would I do then?
My head felt like it was going to explode.
I rose from the couch and poured a scotch. I went to replace the bottle in the liquor cabinet but decided to take it back with me to the living room. I needed the numbing properties in the amber liquid until my mind was too soaked to think beyond tonight.