Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Nelson came over,” I say. “He felt the need to tell me how you offered him a project if he wouldn’t fight the custody.”
“Asshole,” Asher mutters.
“You didn’t have to do that.” My words are soft but filled with emotion.
“It was nothing,” he asserts. “I just figured to speed up the process of what I’m sure was going to be the same outcome.”
“But you gave him a huge project,” I say, the worry in my voice clear.
“Your husband may be a douche, but his work is good. My company has contracted with him before, so I wasn’t risking much.”
“It’s a bit of a risk,” I point out, looking at my flowers. “I’m afraid he might do something shitty because you’re involved with me. He saw the flowers. Read the card. He wasn’t happy.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it has his panties in a twist,” Asher growls. “And if he’s got a problem with it, he needs to man up and come see me. But otherwise, I only care what you think.”
“Well,” I drawl in a sexy voice. “If you must know, receiving them was the highlight of my day. So thank you again.”
I’d already called him earlier when they were delivered. He didn’t pick up—probably in a meeting—so I hung up and sent a text thanking him instead. He texted me back, In a meeting, glad you liked.
I’d smiled, holding the phone and his words to my chest a moment. The ding of another text had me pulling it back.
More to come, he wrote.
I sighed like a swoony princess falling hard over her prince.
Or knight as the case may be.
“Are you going to be at the apartment in the morning when I get there?” I ask.
“Yeah, why?” he replies, no hiding the interest in his voice.
Lowering my voice, I purr into the phone. “Stay in bed and be naked, okay?”
His voice is gruff. “I can do that.”
“Good,” I say softly. “Because I intend to give you a really big thank you for what you did with Nelson and getting Hope back for me so quickly. I hope you can handle it.”
His husky laugh of appreciation tells me that oh yeah… he’s going to like it a lot.
CHAPTER 25
Asher
“M-o-m-m-m-m-y,” Hope yells from her new bedroom. “I need help.”
Hannah and I are standing side by side at the L-shaped kitchen counter, each with our own box of stuff to unpack.
I’m more than pleased with Hannah’s choice of place to live. It’s in a much safer area, and she’ll be a little closer to me.
“What do you need?” Hannah calls as she shoots me a side grin.
I reach into my box and pull out a stack of plates that are individually wrapped in newspaper. Sitting them on the counter, I start to unwrap each one, dropping the paper to the floor. I listen to Mom and daughter converse back and forth.
“My iPad,” Hope yells. “It’s stuck.”
“Are you trying to buy something in the App store?”
There’s a long pause. “Um… never mind. I figured it out.”
Hannah laughs. “I thought Nelson was crazy for buying a five-year-old an iPad, but admittedly there’s a lot of neat learning games on there.”
“What’s she trying to buy? Porn?” I ask.
When Hannah shakes her head, her ponytail swings back and forth, making her look like a teenager. All makeup scrubbed from her face and wearing a ratty t-shirt with shorts cut from sweatpants and feet bare. Sexy as fuck. “The games have levels. To advance, you have to buy it.”
Makes sense. It’s all about monetizing.
As for Hope and the iPad, I have no clue whether it’s appropriate or not. I don’t know much when it comes to kids.
“So,” I drawl a bit hesitantly, which gets Hannah’s attention. She shifts to look at me. “What does Hope think about this thing between us?”
“This thing between us?” she teases with a grin.
She gets a censuring smirk back from me. I return to unwrapping the plates. “Yeah… I mean… what does she know about me? And you? As in together? Like, should I refrain from giving you affection in front of her? I don’t want her to feel threatened by me, especially since you living full time together is kind of new again.”
Hannah doesn’t answer so I give her my attention. She’s staring at me with a dopey smile on her face.
“What?” I ask.
She shakes her head, putting a hand on my forearm. “It’s just… that you would even care to ask… Or that you just inherently know that could be an issue with a kid. Her own dad never got that.”
“So we play it very cool for a while,” I suggest.
She doesn’t respond directly. “When I got the flowers from you, she asked who they were from. I told her they were from you, and she wanted to know right away if we were getting married.”