Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Knock, knock.” Ana pops her head in, grins, and then walks in. “Am I interrupting something important?”
“Never,” Julian says, pulling her into his arms on the couch we’re sitting on and eating our lunch. “Are you heading home?”
“Soon,” she says, giving Julian a kiss. “I need to grab Kingston from childcare first. Speaking of which …” Ana glances my way. “I’m not sure what to do. Julian and I have decided to hire a nanny instead of Kingston returning to childcare after the baby is born. And since Britney moved up to the older age group, that only leaves Addie with Kira.”
“And … what’s the problem?” I ask, refusing to let the mention of her name get to me.
I’ve done a good job of pretending she doesn’t affect me every time I drop off and pick up Addie when the truth is, I can’t get the woman off my mind. I’m only around her for maybe a total of ten minutes, three times a week, yet she’s managed to somehow get under my skin.
Her laughter, her smile. The way she genuinely cares about my daughter. Last week, Addie was teething and cranky, and Kira handled it with such patience and kindness. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. And don’t get me started on her looks. As if her blue eyes and dimple weren’t enough, her body is damn near perfection with curves for days and breasts I imagine would fit perfectly in my palms. I’m ashamed to admit the number of times she’s starred in my fantasies in the past month.
“Well, technically, it’s not a problem,” Ana says. “And we can afford to pay her, but since nobody else is pregnant or planning to use the corporate childcare in the foreseeable future, we’ll be paying Kira to only care for Addie. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to consider getting a nanny …”
“Addie likes her. I don’t want to force my daughter to get used to another person.”
“Okay, then she stays,” Ana says, standing. “I’m actually glad you want that because she needs the job, and I dreaded having to let her go. We can probably have Kira join the other daycare workers, so she and Addie don’t feel isolated. I’ll talk to them tomorrow.”
The rest of the afternoon flies by, and before I know it, I’m heading to the second floor to pick up my daughter. It’s Friday, and I’m looking forward to the weekend. With Addie now walking, she loves to go to the park, and when it’s too hot, we take a drive to the beach. She can play in the sand for hours.
“Hey, Ryder,” Kira says with a warm smile. “How was your day?”
She asks the same type of question every time I pick up Addie. The first time she asked, I simply replied with, “Okay,” hoping to quickly make my escape, but when she scrunched her nose up and said that wasn’t a good enough answer, I elaborated, and we talked for a little while. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t Julian or Ana.
Each time, our conversations have gotten more in depth. We discuss the kids and the plans we have for the weekend. We’ve even talked about our favorite books and music. If I were at a place in my life where I was interested in dating, Kira would be someone I’d want to get to know on a deeper level. She hasn’t mentioned being in a relationship, and she only ever talks about her and her daughter, which leads me to believe she’s a single mom.
But I’m not looking for love. My only focus is my daughter, and the last thing I want is history repeating itself. Addie already had a mom who walked away, and isn’t the woman who birthed you supposed to be the one person who loves you the most? If I wasn’t enough for my mom to stay and Addie wasn’t enough for Nora to stay, how can I expect some woman who has no ties to us to stick around? Getting involved with a woman will only lead to one thing—heartbreak. And I’ve been there, done that, and I got the shirt to prove it.
“It was long,” I admit truthfully, answering her question. “I was thinking about heading to the beach with Addie this weekend. Any plans?”
“That will be fun,” she says, handing my daughter over to me. “Violet has been into bugs recently, so I was thinking of taking her to the science museum.”
“Nice. The one in Houston?”
“Yep. Have you been?”
“Many times.” My nanny used to bring me every summer, and then last year, when my brother and his family visited, we went back. “Make sure she checks out the fossil exhibit. She’ll love digging for treasure.”
“Thanks for the tip.” She hands me my diaper bag, and I sling it over my shoulder. “Bye-bye, Monkey,” she says, using Addie’s nickname that she dubbed her without even knowing I called her Chunky Monkey.