Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“The Ariel ones?” Maggie pipes up.
“Those, I think I forgot.”
“No, Daddy, no!”
Chuckling, he bends down to swoop her up into his arms. “Of course I remembered your Ariel goggles. They were the first thing I packed.”
“You’re good,” I say.
He turns that smile on me. “I know.”
The kids lead the way down the hotel’s long hallway to the pool deck. We’re in San Diego for the first leg of a two-week trip to California that’s part business, part pleasure. Bellamy Brooks has grown by leaps and bounds, and we’re stopping at stores and suppliers up and down the West Coast for meetings and trunk shows galore. We’re also making stops at places we know the kids will love: San Diego for the sun and sand, Santa Barbara for the zoo, Big Sur for the whimsical vibes.
Is it going to be manic? Yes. Will it also be a ton of fun? Absolutely.
Case in point: the kids literally scream with delight when we head outside to the hotel’s enormous pool, which glitters beneath a wide-open sky. The sun is warm on my chest and shoulders, while the breeze is just cool enough to keep the temperature pleasant. There’s not a whiff of humidity.
“Can we set up a third Bellamy Brooks headquarters here?” Duke grunts as he sets down the beach bag that weighs about as much as our two children combined. “What was the temperature back in Hartsville yesterday? A hundred and eight, I think Cash said?”
“A hundred and nine, actually. Mollie told me her shoes were literally melting onto the pavement downtown.”
Duke turns his head to flash me a wide, white smile. “Not sad we’re missing that.”
“Not a bit.” My heart squeezes at his handsomeness. His joy. “I do miss our people, though.”
“They’ll be there when we get back.”
My entire being lights up when Duke straightens and pulls off his shirt. My husband still cowboys part time on the ranch back home, so he’s as thick and strong as ever. The server passing by does a double take, both of us devouring Duke’s sculpted arms, wide chest, and narrow waist.
“He-hi. Hello.” The server’s voice cracks. “Would you be interested in any food or beverages?”
“Piña coladas!” Robbie shouts as he helps Maggie press her goggles to her face. “Please, can we have one? Please, Dad?”
Maggie throws up her arms. “With extra cherries?”
Laughing, Duke nods. “Sure. Two virgin piña coladas with extra cherries, and two regular piña coladas with extra rum.” He looks at me and shrugs. “It’s five o’clock back home.”
I give him a playful shrug. “It’s actually ten a.m. in Texas.”
“Exactly.” He grabs my wrist and pulls me in for a peck on the lips. “In ranch time, that’s basically five o’clock.”
“If you say so.”
We head into the pool with the kids. Thankfully, it’s heated—we’ve learned the hard way to always make sure the hotel we’re staying at heats their pool. At first, I was a little annoyed that our kids were such water bugs, because it meant I always had to get into the pool too.
Now, I don’t mind it one bit. Somewhere along the way—probably in high school—I stopped going in the water, whether it was the ocean, a lake, or a pool. I was just too lazy, or maybe too self-conscious, to jump in, so I’d just sit beside said body of water and scroll on my phone. But having kids forced me to get back in the water, literally and figuratively, and it made me remember just how fun it is.
Setting our piña coladas on the lip of the pool, Duke, Robbie, Maggie, and I start with a game of Marco Polo. The kids howl with laughter when Duke runs into the steps with his eyes closed, pretending to stub his toe.
“Can we do a cannonball competition?” Maggie asks.
I smile. “Only if I win.”
“Bet you I’ll win,” she replies, then takes off toward the ladder.
Maggie does her cannonball first, followed by Robbie and Duke. When it’s my turn, I take a running leap into the pool—much to the chagrin of the lifeguard—laughter bubbling up my sides as I pull my knees into my chest and land in the water with a satisfying splash.
“Mommy!” Robbie screams when I come up for air. “You win! That splash was epic.”
I laugh harder. “Since when do you know what epic means?”
“Since he realized how epically hot his mom is.” Duke loops an arm around my waist.
I lean in to give his neck a quick bite. “That’s not weird at all.”
“It’s just facts, Blue.”
My heart flutters. The nickname still hasn’t gotten old after all these years.
“You’re pretty hot too.” This time, I’m the one kissing him.
“Ew, can you guys stop kissing so we can go to the beach now?” Maggie asks.
Robbie has a disgusted look on his sweet little face. “You guys kiss a lot.”