Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I’m her mom.
“I have nothing to wear,” I mutter. Ada babbles, and I smile. Flipping through my closet, I settle on a pair of jeans with rips on the knee. Tired of overthinking my slim options, I pick a black flowy tank top. It’s been a long time since I’ve worn it. Now for shoes. I drop to my knees and dig into the back of my closet. I find a pair of black heels, and my feet ache just thinking about wearing them. Quickly, I dismiss them and grab the black ballet flats.
Ada crawls over to me and pulls herself up. I kiss her cheek, and she returns the gesture with a sloppy kiss of her own. “It’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone,” I tell her. Images of Maverick fill my mind. But let’s be honest—he’s out of my league. Not only that but he’s never made me think he’s interested in more than friendship. Other than the super sweet things he does for me and Ada, but I’ve learned that’s who he is. According to Jordyn, all of his brothers are the same.
Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid sure know how to raise them. I wonder if it’s something in the water in Georgia?
Standing, I strip out of my robe and slide into the jeans. They fit me like a glove. It’s been so long since I’ve worn them. I forgot that they make me feel sexy. It’s been ages since I’ve felt that way.
Slipping into the black, flowy tank, I snatch Ada into my arms and grab some toys before going across the hall to the bathroom. Pulling open the shower curtain, I place Ada in the tub and drop her toys in with her. She laughs. She immediately crawls toward the faucet, but with the design of the shower, she’s still too short to reach the handle. Pretty soon, I won’t be able to use this method. She’s going to be walking and running all over the place. She’s really close. It will be any day now.
Tearing the towel off my head, I comb out my hair and blow it dry. Hitting the button for a cold shot of air, I point the dryer at Ada, and she giggles. It doesn’t take long to run the straightener over my locks. My hair is straight already, but the straightener helps smooth it out. I don’t do it every day, but tonight is a special occasion. I’m going out for the first time in almost two years.
After I apply mascara and sheer lip gloss, I’m ready. I’ve never worn a lot of makeup, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Besides, even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the time to devote to it. I’ve seen those videos on social media. Those ladies have a million steps to go through each day. I’m not about that life.
Scooping Ada up into my arms, I kiss her cheek. “All right, kiddo, it’s time to get you packed up. You’re going to spend some time with your buddy Maverick and his brother Ryder tonight while Mommy has some mommy time.”
I’m nervous about leaving her with Maverick. I’ve only known him for a short amount of time, but I can’t deny how good he is with her, and she adores him. It’s obvious anytime the two of them are together.
It’s only a few hours. We’re also staying in Willow River, so it’s a short five-minute drive to get to his place. I won’t be far, and my gut tells me I can trust Maverick. In fact, I think he might be the most trustworthy person I’ve ever met. He’s solid and dependable and sexy as hell, but I’m not going to think about that last part. I can’t. With how sweet he is to us, if I allow myself to think about that, I’ll fall down into a rabbit hole that will only end in pain. Been there, done that, got my daughter to prove it.
Derrick was a charmer. We were only casually dating, but he was good to me and apparently told me what I wanted to hear. Lesson learned? Before you sleep with someone, you need to know their life goals. Do they want kids? How do they feel about kids in general? Sure, they could lie, but I have a feeling Derrick wouldn’t have. Would his confession have changed my mind about sleeping with him? I doubt it. I was pretty wasted the night our daughter was conceived. The one and only time we slept together. The one and only time I’d ever slept with anyone.
The lesson of a lifetime. Birth control is not one-hundred-percent effective; I knew that, but I still thought with a condom, we were protected. The universe said, “Hold my beer,” and gave me the best thing to ever happen to me. Sure, there were bumps along the way, and her father is an asshole, but she’s my best friend. I wouldn’t change a single thing if it meant she wasn’t mine.