Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
“Pedigree,” he chuckled uncomfortably.
I smiled in sympathy, seeing how much this bothered him. “I’m serious, baby. Whatever it is, I…I don’t think I will be shocked. I have my own theories already.”
He bit his lip. “About my mom?”
I nodded with a dip of my chin. “I’ve been leaning toward rehab or prison time.”
He flushed instantly and averted his gaze, and the glassiness in his eyes got caught in the reflection of the sun.
“Am I close?” I murmured.
He swallowed and nodded. “Both.”
Ah.
“Leave everything about tomorrow to me. We’ll go someplace private.” I hugged him to me and pressed my lips to his temple. “You can tell me whatever you want. It won’t change the fact that you’re mine. Okay?”
He wrapped his arms around my middle and nodded against my neck. “Yes, sir, but I’ll understand if—”
“Daddy!” Julia hollered.
“Well. She picked a good time to interrupt,” I said with another kiss to Peyton’s temple. “You were undoubtedly about to say something idiotic.”
Peyton spluttered a chuckle.
“Daddy!” Julia’s voice rose to shrill and demanding, and I turned toward her just in time to see her running off her lounger. It happened so fast, but thankfully, my instincts kicked in. Processing came later. She tumbled toward the edge and darted straight out into the water.
Peyton and I both kicked off from the bottom of the pool and dove under a fraction of a second after Cathryn bolted from the lounger with a shout.
Julia hadn’t reached the bottom yet when I grabbed on to her arm and hauled her up, and that was when my pulse skyrocketed.
She coughed and choked.
“Daddy’s got you.” I blew out a heavy breath and patted her firmly on the back. Water was coming out of her nose, and she’d probably inhaled a mouthful. I nodded to Cathryn that I had it covered; she could fuss later. “That’s good, darling. Just cough until it feels better.”
Cathryn stayed in the background with a hand on her chest.
I sat Julia down on the edge of the pool and rubbed her back. The worst seemed to be over. Good, because she was about to get an earful from me. Christ, this girl. She was too reckless.
“Better?” I brushed some water away from her face.
She coughed and nodded.
Peyton took that as a sign to move forward. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the forehead. “You sweet little terror, what have we said about going into the pool without asking first?”
“I have impowtant question ’bout ice cwream,” she argued in a croak.
“That doesn’t matter,” he told her. “You ask first. Unless Daddy, Cathryn, or I tell you it’s okay to jump in, you stay put.”
Or maybe I would just shut up, because Peyton was evidently handling it.
“But Daddy catches me!” she exclaimed. “He always does.”
“It’s still a rule we’ve given you,” Peyton reminded her seriously. “We follow rules, don’t we?”
I rubbed a hand over my mouth to hide my smile, and I glanced up and exchanged a look with Cathryn. She saw it too, and she grinned slightly.
“But he was right there,” Julia whined.
“And what if we hadn’t heard you?” Peyton countered. He was patient with her but didn’t let her off the hook. “A hundred things can go wrong, sweetheart. That’s why you have to wait. You have to. All right?”
“Fiiine!” She huffed and turned to me. “Tell him to stop yelling at me.”
I raised a brow at her, ticked off. “That’s not yelling. I would’ve yelled at you. You want me to do that?”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and shook her head. I hoped she realized there would be no turning the adults against one another.
“You’re going to bed early tonight, and no dessert after dinner,” I said.
The world came to an end for Julia there, and Daddy was suddenly the meanest person ever.
Daddy could live with that.
The next day, I got a rare chance to take an actual nap. It started out with Julia next to me, but she woke up before I did, and Cathryn left a note saying they’d gone to the mini golf course on the property.
My workday was over, and Peyton was nowhere to be seen, so I took a shower and got dressed. Cargo shorts and a button-down would do for a casual date. Considering Peyton wanted to get something “off his chest,” I hadn’t made any grand plans. Instead, I’d packed a daypack with a blanket, a bottle of rum, and some snacks. On the way out, we’d pick up dinner from the restaurant, which reminded me—I had to call and place my order.
“Boss, you in there?” Mathis called from the terrace.
I crossed the living room and poked my head out. “Well, there’s one of you. Have you seen Peyton?”
He jerked his chin in the general direction of…elsewhere. Everything was where he nodded. “I saw him in the office earlier.”