Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“You can’t unpack all this in one day.”
I sigh and pull the ponytail holder out from my hair, running my hands through it. “I feel like I should at least work until I’m too exhausted to do any more.”
“Or.” He enunciates the word dramatically. “We could dig into this double pepperoni, double cheese and talk about our upcoming date.”
I can’t help grinning, feeling my cheeks flush. Rowan is tall, broad-shouldered, always smells good and he remembers my favorite kind of pizza, which I told him more than six months ago.
Feigning thoughtfulness, I put my thumb and index finger on my chin and lower my brows. “I don’t recall accepting a date with you.”
There’s a playful gleam in his hazel eyes. “Don’t even. I’ve waited patiently for a year. You’re all mine.”
My heart skips a beat at the sound of him saying those words. After Jake was arrested, I resolved to not date anyone for at least a full year. It felt like torture sticking to it when Rowan first asked me out right after we met for the first time on Thanksgiving last year. But given my track record with choosing men, I knew it was the right thing to do for myself and my sons.
I wanted to finish school and focus on being a mom and settling into my new job. It was surprisingly freeing, never even considering men or their interest in me. However, I did feel tugs of loneliness at times when I saw Dom and Tess giving each other secret looks or being affectionate.
“Technically, there’s still a month to go,” I remind Rowan. “It’s October nineteenth.”
“Right, but we have to coordinate our schedules. And I need time to plan my outfit.”
I burst out laughing. The gray sweatpants and well-worn Navy Coyotes T-shirt he’s wearing are his usual style. He’s a casual dresser other than the suits he has to wear after games.
Those damn well-cut suits have made me question my sanity every time I went out with Tess, Dom and his teammates after games. Women swarm around Rowan like bees on honey. I’ve been telling myself for the last eleven months that there was no way he’d be single and still interested in me after my dating ban ends.
“Are you trying to starve me?” Dom and Rowan’s teammate Sergei scowls as he approaches, my son Tate tucked beneath one of his massive arms like a football.
“You had a six-egg omelet and eight pieces of bacon for breakfast, I think you’ll survive.” Rowan holds out the pizza boxes to him. “Now go eat your pizza and stop scaring the pretty woman.”
Sergei manages to wrap his free arm around the half dozen pizza boxes and carry them to the kitchen, Tate not making a sound.
I get misty-eyed watching them go. “You guys are all so great. Helping us move and taking my boys to do things all the time.”
When Dom and Tess got together, it wasn’t just her and her kids they welcomed into the Coyotes family, but me and my boys, too. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was questioning myself in so many ways after what happened with Jake.
“Nah, I’m the only great one,” Rowan says. “Ignore the rest of those assholes.”
I laugh. “Seems rude to ignore people helping me move.”
“Nope. Just focus all your attention right here.” He makes a circular motion of his face and chest with his index finger.
Part of me wishes I could jump into his arms and do just that. But another part of me is apprehensive about going on a date again, even with someone I already know pretty well and like. I’m twenty-eight years old, and not once have I chosen a man who ended up being worth a shit. It was one thing when it only broke my heart, but now I have two little boys who are a big part of the equation.
“Why don’t we go focus some attention on that double pepperoni pizza?” I say, peeking inside the wrapper of the sandwich Tess brought me. “And I also have a turkey sub if that sounds good.”
Rowan wrinkles his nose. “Not when pizza’s an option.”
“Did you guys get the last of the stuff from Dom’s?” I ask as we walk toward the kitchen.
“Yep. Everything’s here.”
Dom generously hired movers to bring our furniture from his house to my new one. He and several of his teammates moved all the boxes. They did the same thing when Tess and I sold our house six months ago. Having Dom’s teammates around all the time is something I’ll miss, even though I know I’ll still see them sometimes.
“Are you trying to talk her out of this nonsense?” Tess asks Rowan when we walk into the kitchen.
She’s still stuck on not wanting me to move out. I know the full reality of it hasn’t set in with me yet because I’ve been so busy with the move. Tess and I have lived together for almost eight years.