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)
“Why are you crying?” Violet asks, reaching out and wiping a tear that I didn’t realize had fallen.
“Because I’m so happy,” I tell her honestly.
I look at the cards the girls made—their handprints traced with flowers sprouting out of each finger, obviously done with the help of Ryder—and I cry harder.
I’ve been a mom for four years, and this is the first time it’s ever been celebrated. The first Mother’s Day I became a mom, I went out and bought myself a small cake to celebrate getting through almost a year of being a single mom since my mom isn’t maternal like that, but the years following, I didn’t bother. I always get my mom a card, but I’ve never had the money to do anything more for her.
When I was with Brian, aside from him wishing me a happy Mother’s Day and mentioning, “Hopefully, by this time next year, you’ll be pregnant,” he barely acknowledged the fact that I was already a mom.
I figured it was because Violet wasn’t his. But as I sit here, surrounded by so much love that Ryder is responsible for—despite Addie not being mine and Violet not being his—I can see the difference in the type of men they are.
I mean, I already saw the difference, but this moment right now solidifies what I already knew but was afraid to admit—Ryder is nothing like Brian. And that scares the hell out of me because, now, what reason do I have for keeping my growing feelings for him to myself?
“Eat,” Ryder says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Thank you,” I tell him, cutting into my pancakes and taking a bite. “Have you guys eaten?”
“I had three pancakes,” Violet says, holding up three fingers.
“Me!” Addie adds, holding her hand up.
While I eat, Violet explains the cards the girls made me in full detail, and once she’s done, she looks at Ryder and says, “Can we give her the gift now?”
“A gift?” I question. “Breakfast and cards and flowers are the best gifts I’ve ever gotten,” I tell her, leaning over and kissing her cheek. “I don’t need anything else.”
“I’ll be right back,” Ryder says, taking the tray from me.
“I want to go!” Violet scrambles off the bed and runs after him, leaving Addie and me.
Since the tray is gone, she climbs onto my lap like the little monkey she is, and I cuddle with her until Violet and Ryder return.
“A gift for you!” Violet drops the wrapped box onto the bed.
“What is it?” I ask in shock and awe.
“You have to open it,” Ryder says with a chuckle, taking Addie from me so I have my hands free.
She squirms to get out of his arms, and once on the floor, she toddles right back over to me.
“Up, up!”
Before Ryder can grab her, I reach down and lift her back onto the bed. She crawls into my lap, and I kiss her forehead, loving how clingy she is.
“Open the gift, Mommy,” Violet insists.
With my arms on either side of Addie, I rip the paper off, exposing an orange-and-blue box with the words Louis Vuitton written across the top.
“Ryder,” I hiss when I open the box and find a gorgeous leather bag. “When did you find the time to do this?” I lift it up and admire it. It’s big enough to be a diaper bag, but it’s way prettier. “This is too much.”
I glance up at him, and he shakes his head.
“You love and care for our daughters every day. You give them every part of you. And even though Addie isn’t your blood, you treat her like she is. Today is about moms, and you’re one of the best damn moms I know. This stuff”—he waves his hand toward the cards and flowers and bag—“is the least of what you deserve. Besides,” he says with a smirk, “that bag you carry around is ready to be retired, no matter how much you love it.”
I glare playfully at him even though he’s not wrong.
“Thank you,” I whisper, wiping the tears from my eyes.
I went to bed, thinking tomorrow would be like any other day, and woke up, feeling more love than I’d ever felt.
“You’re welcome,” Ryder says with a soft smile. “So …” he says slowly. “I was thinking, if you wanted the day to yourself, I could watch Violet for you.”
“I appreciate that,” I tell him, “but Violet and I actually have plans today.”
“Mommy and I are going to the zoo,” Violet tells him.
“That sounds like fun,” he says.
“We go every year. It’s become a tradition.”
I didn’t think it would happen this year since I didn’t even have the money to provide a roof over our heads. But thanks to Ana taking a chance on me and then Ryder hiring me and moving us in, I have more than enough money to take Violet to the zoo.