Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
I struggle into my own clothes, my face on fire, eyes wild, and the rest of me ridiculously sweaty, likely from the embarrassment. I feel like a teenager who’s sneaking around, except it’s not a parent I’m worried about catching me, it’s a nine-year-old. I can hear Gavin consoling Peyton from the other side of the door.
I make sure my hair isn’t a mess and that my clothes are smoothed before I open it. “Is everything okay?” I ask, forcing a smile and hoping I don’t look as guilty as I feel.
“I didn’t know where you were. You weren’t in the living room and usually that’s where Daddy is after he puts me to bed.” Her fingers go to her mouth. “I had a dream that the angels had come to take Harley back, and this time they took you with them.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s not going to happen.” Gavin wraps his arms around her.
“Why are you in your office? It’s late for working,” she mumbles into his stomach.
“I was showing Harley some drawings for one of my projects.”
“Is it a secret project? Is that why the door was locked?”
Gavin’s gaze darts to me. I didn’t manage to get my bra back on because I couldn’t find it. I cross my arms over my chest to hide my peaked nipples and scan the floor. I spot the floral printed cup at the edge of the couch, about five feet away from where Gavin is hugging Peyton. I take a few steps closer, moving in so I can shove it under the couch with my toe.
“Do you want your dad to take you back to bed?”
“Can you both come? Can you sing me a song, Harley?”
I glance at Gavin, taking my cues from him. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Gavin picks her up and carries her back to her room, me following close behind. He climbs into her princess bed with her, and I sit in the beanbag chair and sing her favorite lullabies until she falls asleep.
I help him roll out of her bed, and we steal out of her room and head back to the living room. “That was close.” I drop down on the couch next to him.
“Very close.” He rubs at his lips with his fingertips.
“Tell me what you’re thinking?”
“That I’m glad I locked my office door,” he mutters.
I nod my agreement. “It would have been very hard to explain what was going on if she’d burst in on us like that.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I think we need my parents to take her for an overnight again.”
I’ve been patient with Gavin while we’ve been navigating this new us, but at some point me always going home and us only being able to spend the night together once a month has to change. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, and although his parents know we’re dating, I’m not sure what he’s told his mother-in-law, if anything at all. At this point, it’s only my sisters who know I’m even spending time with him as anything other than a friend. I understand that we need to be cautious, but I’m starting to feel like a dirty little secret.
“We can definitely do that. Plan another date night where you get to stay at my place,” I say, then decide now is as good a time as any to address one of the other issues. “I know that we want to approach this carefully for Peyton’s sake, but I think we probably need to talk about how long we’re planning to keep this from her. Or at least at what point you’re going to feel comfortable telling her we’re dating, if that’s what we’re doing.”
His brows pull together. “What do you mean? If that’s what we’re doing?”
I struggle to find the words, not wanting to create unnecessary tension, but needing to know what we are to each other. “I’m just not sure what it is exactly we’re doing. We’ve only been on one date and that was a month ago. Most of the time we have Peyton with us, and our alone time is relegated to sneaking off to your office. Are we friends with benefits? Are we secretly dating?”
His eyes flare with shock. “Shit. Is that how I’m making you feel? I don’t want you to be a secret indefinitely. And I don’t see this as a friends-with-benefits situation. Not for me anyway. Is that how you see us?”
“No, but we’ve never really defined what we’re doing.” The lump in my throat softens. “I’m glad we’re on the same page, but how do we move forward?”
Gavin taps on the arm of the sofa and pokes at his cheek with his tongue. “I’ve always been very careful to keep my personal life separate from Peyton, and I realize this is a lot different because you two are already close.” He blows out a breath. “Karen didn’t exactly make it easy for me to date in the past. I don’t think I realized how hard she made it until now.”