Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112762 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Walker was on my left, Regan on my right, and Thane on Regan’s right. She nudged me with her knee, and I met her gleaming gaze. She wiggled her eyebrows.
I gave a huff of laughter. “Will you knock it off?” I whispered.
“You and Walker. I knew it,” she whispered back.
“Anyone with eyes knew it,” Walker murmured from my left as he surveyed the grading before us.
Thane muffled his laughter, but I couldn’t hide my grin as Regan smirked and faced the front.
One thing I loved about Walker was that he didn’t hide from much. Even though he hadn’t wanted to be attracted to me, he hadn’t hidden from the fact that he was. Even though he’d never wanted to be in a relationship, he hadn’t hidden from the realization that he wanted to be in one with me.
He didn’t often offer information about himself, but if I asked, he’d tell me.
So the fact he wouldn’t tell me about the older woman we bumped into in Edinburgh bothered me. It wasn’t like Walker to avoid a truth. And the truth was, she had a remarkably similar pair of vivid blue eyes to Walker.
He didn’t want to talk about it, and I was trying not to be bothered that he never talked about his family. His past.
The sight of Callie and Lewis stepping onto the mat in their little white doboks drew my focus. Their jackets were closed with a white belt, signifying they were tenth gup. I had no idea what that meant, other than that they were beginners, but I knew today, they’d be tested to see if they could advance to ninth gup. Yellow tips would be placed around the ends of their belts if they advanced.
Nervous butterflies filled my belly, and I squeezed my hands between my knees at the sight of my little girl standing on that mat in a line with her peers. Lewis stood at her side. It suddenly occurred to me I was going to have to watch her fight.
Walker’s big hand covered both of mine. “She’ll be fine.”
I took in the tender understanding in his expression. Leaning into him, I slid my fingers through his, and he held my hand as grading started. An instructor yelled out words I couldn’t understand, and then Callie, along with her peers, moved.
I watched in awe as she punched and kicked the air, the gliding movements almost like a dance.
“It’s called a pattern,” Walker murmured in my ear. “They include offensive and defensive maneuvers, and they have to memorize the pattern.”
I’d seen her rehearse this but hadn’t known what it was called. Pride filled me as I observed a few of the other kids stumble and forget their moves. But not Callie and Lewis. In fact, they moved in perfect synchronicity because they’d practiced over and over together.
“They’re amazing,” Regan murmured beside me. “Our kids are amazing.”
“When did Lewis get so tall?” I asked.
“He just had a growth spurt. We had to buy him new jeans, pants, shoes, everything.”
The pattern ended and I wanted to surge to my feet and clap, but Walker squeezed my hand with a sexy smirk and a shake of his head.
Okay. No clapping at gradings.
“She did good, right?”
He nodded. “She did very well.”
Pride was practically bursting out of me, and Walker leaned in to press a quick kiss to my lips.
There were more parts to the grading, but the worst for me was sparring. Callie was called up to spar with another girl, who looked a little older. I might have cut off Walker’s circulation by squeezing his hand as the girl flew at Callie. But my girl blocked and defended and got through the other girl’s lazy defense with an impressive kick to her side and a punch to the chest. The sparring went on for too long for my peace of mind, especially when the girl kicked Callie in the upper thigh, causing her to stumble.
But when it was over, Callie was announced the winner.
“She’s good,” Walker told me quietly. “A natural, in fact.”
“I’m proud and terrified by that.”
He chuckled and kissed my temple in reassurance. The man was surprisingly affectionate now that we were officially dating. I loved it.
Lewis’s sparring went just as well. His opponent wasn’t as sloppy as Callie’s, but Lewis was fast and precise. For beginners, they really were impressive.
“Look at that intense determination on his face.” Regan’s dimples flashed. “My savage little guy. I could just squeeze him, he’s so cute.”
“I think he’d rather you didn’t at this precise moment,” Thane said dryly.
I choked on a chuckle. Even though Lewis wasn’t Regan’s biological son, you wouldn’t know it. She’d been Lewis and Eilidh’s nanny before she fell for Thane, and she’d loved those kids from day one. It was clear that love had grown as deep as any mother’s love could.