Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
He frowned. “I have every belief it will.”
“I need…” I swallowed, feeling overwhelmed.
He kissed my nose. “A little time. I understand. I’ll show you how serious I am, Rosie.”
“I know that. I… AJ…”
“I know. I know. But I’ll prove it.”
AJ came running out of his room, grinning. “I brushed my teeth, Momma!”
Asher swung him up in his arms. “What a clever boy. Isn’t he clever, Momma?”
I ruffled AJ’s hair. “He is.”
“Asher is clever too. Right, Momma?”
I smiled looking at them. They both looked at me with so much love in their eyes. As if I was the center of their world. I had to blink away the emotion I felt building.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Both my boys are clever.”
They high-fived each other, and AJ looked at Asher. “Will you and Momma read to me again tonight?”
Asher set him on his feet. “Go pick a book, and we’ll be right in.”
AJ rushed off, and Asher looped his arm around my waist. “One book, then you’re mine the rest of the night, Rosie. All mine.”
I followed him into the bedroom, hoping the book AJ chose was short.
Really short.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ROSIE
The next few weeks, life was different. The office wasn’t as great a place to be anymore, at least not for me. Ms. Wells loved to micromanage and everyone in my department felt the effects of her daily reports, but she was especially hard on me. She noted my comings and goings meticulously. I made sure to arrive as early as I could, and I never left a minute before four. I wondered bitterly if she ever accounted for the fact that I rarely took a break and ate my lunch at my desk. I kept my phone on silent and replied to Asher’s texts while in the bathroom or when I ate my sandwich at my desk. He checked in on me every day without fail, his sweet words the only thing making me smile.
But as draining as the days were, the evenings made up for it. I never knew when Asher would appear. Sometimes, he was waiting when we got home; other times, he would show up after dinner or while we were eating. A couple of times, he was waiting outside, driving me to pick up AJ and taking us out to supper. The nights he had meetings, he always called to talk. He told me about his day, a new venture, or a large donation that pleased him. I missed him when he wasn’t there. His comforting presence, his warmth and laughter—I felt their absence. He rarely stayed the night, but he took AJ and me to his condo on the weekends. It was like a mini vacation from reality.
One I was finding hard to return to.
I hated Sunday nights. So did AJ. Last night after we got home, he threw a tantrum. The first I had ever witnessed.
“I want to go back to Asher’s,” he insisted. “It’s nice and warm. I have a big bed, and you smile when we’re there. Call him and tell him to come get us!”
The temptation to do exactly that was strong.
Asher was careful not to overstep or go too far. But the difference in our worlds was so clear every time I stepped back into my small apartment after leaving his more luxurious space. It surprised me how comfortable I was there. How much it felt like home. He felt like home. How tempting it was to ask him to let us stay. Because I knew if I did, he would arrange it in a heartbeat. He had already added to AJ’s room. A race car bed frame now stretched along one wall. New toys and toy box. Racing stripes on the walls, a soft rug on the floor for when AJ was playing. A big chair in the corner all three of us sat in to read a book at night.
Items for me appeared as well. A thick, soft robe and warm slippers. Luxurious bath and beauty products. Another big chair to curl up in and look out the window of the bedroom. Every type of cooking implement and ingredient I could think of to use in the kitchen. Blankets and pillows in the living room. Some new comfortable shirts and leggings appeared in the closet. A pretty, warm jacket I had yet to wear.
All added for our comfort, slowly turning the condo into a haven of warmth for us all.
But I had only known him a short time, and I still worried. It frightened me how much I was beginning to rely on him. How much I needed him.
My phone rang, bringing me out of my musings, and I frowned when I saw the day care number.
“Hello?”
“Rosie, it’s Gwen from Happy Faces Day Care.”
“Is AJ all right?”
“He’s fine. But we’re closing early due to the storm.”