Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Cooper,” he whispered, letting his head fall back on my shoulder.
“My cum is dripping down your thighs,” I nearly crowed, nuzzling my face into the side of his neck. “You are addicted to me, superstar, and I’ve got it just as bad. I’m thinking we should stick together from now on. Anyone else, for either of us, would just be too disappointing.”
“Yes, agreed,” he whispered seriously, hand on the side of my face, keeping me there, close, as we breathed in tandem. “That’s a good plan. Very logical.”
“I thought so.”
After several minutes of silence, he asked if I wanted to take a shower with him.
“I would love that,” I murmured.
“Good,” he said, smiling sheepishly.
I noted that before we went in, he picked up my sweater, carried it to the kitchen table, and laid it out flat.
“I think it’s dead,” I teased him.
“It’s cotton. It’s not dead. Don’t be such a pessimist.”
The fact that he planned to take it home, when its only claim to fame was that it was mine, was quite telling.
After our shower we both needed a nap, and so snuggled up together on the sectional in the living room, thinking that that way, we would certainly not sleep too long. Neither of us stirred until Ainsley called to see what we were doing for dinner.
None of us—me, Ash, Ainsley, or Jeff—went out drinking. And while they had a good excuse for not going, Ash and I just sounded old.
It was fun that when we came downstairs, I ran toward Gemma and she ran to me and we met in the middle of the lobby. I swept her up and twirled her around, finally giving her a big hug. Ainsley shook her head.
“Why?” I asked, settling Gemma on my hip.
“You’re going to give her unreal expectations about men.”
I turned to Ash.
“A hundred percent,” he agreed, not even a hint of a smile on the man’s face. “Before you, no one swept me off my feet either. Ainsley’s point is well made. Gemma needs to know she has to make her own sweeping and twirling, not count on someone else. No man is going to be her hero except her dad.”
“Exactly right,” Jeff chimed in, trying to look as serious as Ainsley or Ash. “However, maybe we can wait to have her manage her expectations until she turns three.”
Ainsley promised to consider that.
It was far too cold, rainy, and windy for us to walk to dinner anywhere, so it was the restaurant at the inn for the second night in a row, or we could pay for delivery from somewhere. After much debate, Ash offered to treat for pizza. No one could handle anymore fancy food. Since it was still early, the restaurant even let us eat in a small corner in the back. When the pizza was delivered, the kids gave Ash a round of applause.
“Okay,” he said to Ainsley afterward. “I can see where creating your own cheering section would be appealing.”
“I appreciate that,” she assured him.
Later, a boat came by, close enough that the kids could see it out the window but not as well as they could have if they were on the large patio. Gemma wanted to go outside, and when her mother told her no, she lay down on the floor in the lobby and cried like the world was ending.
Jeff had taken the boys to the bathroom, Ainsley was breastfeeding Taylor, so it fell to me to walk over. I nudged her with my foot.
“Are you dying?” I prodded her.
“Coo-per,” she yelled, sounding completely exasperated with me, clearly over being my friend. When I glanced at Ash, he was making a face and Ainsley was scolding him.
“Don’t you dare tell her she’s cute,” she mouthed so her daughter wouldn’t hear, and Ash gestured at Gemma with both hands, his face speaking volumes that she was, in fact, freaking adorable.
“Pick her up,” Ainsley mouthed to me, and I heard the command despite the lack of sound.
I scooped the toddler off the floor before turning to her mother. “She’s gonna need another bath, because that”—I gestured to the carpet—“is disgusting.”
She nodded and tipped her head toward the ballroom, which was open but empty—it was where the wedding reception would be held the following night.
“Where are you going?” Ash called over to me.
“On walkabout. We’ll be right back.”
I showed Gemma the ballroom where the wedding would be, and though she liked the curtains by the stage and the black-and-white checkerboard floor, she seemed disappointed in the light fixtures. Or maybe that was me, since she was only two. I’d been expecting the Phantom of the Opera chandelier, so anything less was a letdown.
We toured the smaller lounge next to the ballroom next.
“That’s interesting… Both rooms lead out onto the same patio. How would you keep the parties separate if you were having more than one event?”