Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
He groaned as he came, sweet release coursing through him. He cuddled her close, feeling every muscle in his body relax.
“Okay, that was not awkward.” She wrapped her arms around him.
His brain felt fuzzy, happy.
And then he remembered what he hadn’t told her earlier.
Boomer took a deep breath and cuddled her close. Telling her now would only worry her, and he wasn’t even sure about what he’d seen. There were a lot of dark sedans in the city.
But he was almost certain one had followed them tonight.
He kissed her forehead. He’d lost the tail, and tomorrow, he would see if he could find anything on the traffic cams he’d been careful to drive by.
Tonight was for loving her.
“Yeah, I think we’re going to have to do that a lot.” He sighed and let the worry go for the moment.
Chapter Eight
A week and a half later, Daphne looked over the contents of Lou’s suitcase. She had two clean school uniforms, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, sneakers, plenty of undies, PJs, and the little bras she probably didn’t need but insisted on wearing because they made her feel grown up.
If only she could get her baby to understand she would have to wear those suckers for the rest of her life.
“Are you sure you can’t come?” Lou plunked herself down on her bed, frowning up at her. “I don’t want to go with Grandmother. She’s awful to the teachers and sucks up to the girls I hate because she knows their grandparents. The teachers are all I have, Mom.”
She smoothed her daughter’s hair back, looking into that precious face. “I’m sorry. I’ve got two weddings this weekend I’ve got to get ready for. But then all I have to do is drop the cakes off and I’ll spend the whole rest of the weekend with you.”
Lou’s eyes lit up. “Can we go to Bri’s house? She told me they were having a barbecue on Saturday.”
Serena had sent her an evite yesterday, and Boomer was already dreaming about Jake’s famous barbecue ribs. She’d mentioned that to Serena in their new group text and promised to offset whatever Boomer ate in ribs with potato salad and a mega shit ton of baked goods. She would be baking for days because her man could eat. “That is the plan. And I’ll be waiting for you when the bus pulls in on Friday.”
“Will Boomer be there?” Lou asked, an expectant air about her.
“I don’t… Maybe. I’ll ask him if he can take off a little early and then maybe we can go out to dinner. Does that sound like fun?” Why shouldn’t he come with her? She was an adult in a happy relationship with a man who was good to her daughter. Why should she hide that? She wasn’t close to any of the other moms. They all made her uncomfortable. They never let her forget that she wasn’t the one paying the bills.
It might be fun to show off her gorgeous, hunky boyfriend.
She’d meant to take this slow with Lou. She really had, but they’d fallen into these wonderful, comforting patterns in the last few days. After Boomer had helped her put her condo back in order, they’d moved in, but Boomer was always right next door. She had a new security system, and McKay-Taggart had assured her that Brandon hadn’t been the one who’d broken in, and he wasn’t following her. They were monitoring her system, and she felt as safe as she could. Of course Boomer sneaking over to stay close to her at night helped enormously. He snuck out before Lou woke, and he was always waiting for them to show up at his place where he made them all breakfast before she took Lou to school.
While Lou was on her school trip, she was going to drive Boomer to work and pick him up when she was done. If it worked out okay, she might suggest he come along with her and Lou in the mornings. He already walked down to the school every afternoon to pick Lou up and bring her back to the office with him, and then they walked home together.
It was everything she wanted, and she worried that the minute her in-laws figured out she was dating again, there would be trouble.
A knock on her door let her know the real source of that potential trouble was here. And she was early.
“Yes, I want to go to dinner with you and Boomer on Friday,” Lou said with a sigh. “I will be counting down the hours until I get home again.”
Her daughter’s whole expression had shuttered, and her shoulders slumped. She was starting to react to her grandmother the same way Daphne did. When Amelia showed up, Lou’s mask slid into place.
Twelve was far too young to have a mask.