Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“Ooh, I don’t know what to get.” Roe bit her lip as her gaze darted over the stall like it was the most important decision of her life.
“How about we get a couple of everything?” I suggested.
Her eyes flew to mine. “We can’t do that. Who’ll eat it all?”
“You’ve met my family, right?”
Monroe laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners, the sound and look of her so sweet, it took everything within me not to kiss the laughter right off her lips. She must have caught the heat in my eyes, because she flushed and she glanced away quickly. “Won’t your family visit the market themselves?”
“Aye, but at this rate, Sloane will be sold out before they get here.”
She considered this. “Maybe we should get a couple of things.”
A few minutes later, the stall had cleared a bit and I told Sloane, “Give me four of everything.”
“Four!” Monroe gasped. “How will we carry that?”
“I’ll keep it behind the stall for you,” Sloane offered. “You can collect it after.”
“See?” I grinned at the solution.
“I want a Santa hat now, though,” Roe murmured, looking like a wee kid.
I chuckled. “Don’t worry, you can have your Santa hat, my love.”
Sloane shot Roe a wide-eyed look before she began boxing up the treats. “This will be our biggest sale of the day.”
“I’ll help, Mom,” Callie said, reaching out to box more of the treats.
“Do you want to be a baker, too, Callie?” I asked. “Or have you caught the acting bug?”
She smiled at me. “I like being in the musical, but I think I like baking more.”
“That’s understandable. I’m an actor, and I like eating baked goods more.”
Callie giggled, and I felt Roe’s attention on me.
“What?” I asked her.
Roe snorted. “You don’t look like you like baked goods more.”
“And if I did?” I asked, a hint of seriousness in the question. It took a lot of dedication to stay in shape. Without my personal trainer on hand, I was hitting the estate’s gym hard every morning with Walker before anyone else was awake. When we had time, we swam laps in the glass-roofed pool afterward.
Monroe gave me a tender smile. “Then you’d still be Brodan. Just cuddlier.”
I grinned, relieved, and leaned in to murmur in her ear, “I’m cuddly now, and you’re welcome to explore just how cuddly I am. Anytime.”
When I pulled back, her cheeks were pink, and I recognized desire when I saw it. However, she replied, “I already have a toy to cuddle with.”
An image of her with the toy in question flashed through my mind, and heat flooded my groin. Fuck. I glowered at her in frustration. “Play nice.”
She appeared far too smug for my own good.
“Mom, there’s Walker,” Callie said loudly, reminding me we were not alone.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Walk strolling stiffly through the market while the woman he’d come back to Ardnoch with last night clung to his arm. He’d told me this morning at the gym that he’d hooked up with someone from a pub two villages north and brought her back to the bungalow he’d rented now that we knew we weren’t leaving. Walker liked it here as much as I did, so he’d decided to stay too. He was a man, however, who liked separation of work from living space, so he’d found a place near where Arro used to live. Walker had left the house this morning with the woman still sleeping in his bed, hoping she’d be gone by the time he returned.
Obviously, that hadn’t happened.
Feeling Roe’s arm tense around mine, I glanced down at her and found her staring worriedly at Sloane. Sure enough, the pretty blond appeared crestfallen at the sight of Walker with another woman.
Shit. I’d forgotten Sloane had a thing for Walk.
I wished I could tell her that the other woman probably meant very little to Walker, but it wouldn’t matter, anyway. I’d known the man for half a decade, and in that time, he’d never gotten remotely serious about a woman.
A fake, cheery smile graced Sloane’s face as Walker approached the stall. He gave her a nod and then greeted her daughter. “How’s it goin’, Callie?”
She beamed. “Great! Mr. Adair just bought four of everything.”
Walker scowled at me. “You didn’t buy everything, did you?”
I snorted. “Relax, Sweet Tooth, there is plenty left for you.” I looked at his companion, not wanting to be rude. “Hi.”
She gaped at me. “You’re Brodan fucking Adair!”
I winced at how loud she was and watched Walker’s face darken.
“I love your movies.” She fluttered her eyelashes at me. “You’re an awesome actor. I particularly loved Redemption Road.”
Of course she did. It was the movie where I was filmed naked in the shower. No full frontal, but arse and all. Many a meme had been made from that scene.
“Thanks,” I murmured as I gently pulled Roe tighter against my side.