Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Okay maybe this look on him tops them all.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks, and I focus on him.
“Just thinking that this is my favorite look on you. Sexy soon-to-be dad putting together furniture.” I watch him smile.
“What was your favorite look before?”
“It was a tossup between hot professor and sexy athletic guy.”
“Is that so?” He grins as I walk to him. Once I’m standing in front of him, he cups my belly in both his hands and presses a kiss to it before he pulls me down to sit on his lap. “You should be sleeping.”
“Your son woke me up sitting on my bladder.” I pet PJ when he wanders over to me to say hi with his tail wagging.
“I’ll have a talk with him.” He leans down to my stomach. “Hey kid, you need to be kind to your mom while you’re living in there.”
“I’m sure that worked.” I laugh threading my fingers though his hair. “Why are you awake?”
“Just couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d do something productive with my time.” He lifts the instruction manual he was looking at then tosses it aside.
I lean over and pick up one of the pieces of wood next to us. “Okay, tell me what we’re doing.”
“You’re not doing anything except sitting here looking unbelievably fuckable in this nightgown.” He slides his fingers under the lace at the bodice and I smile.
“Should I be offended that you’re not allowing me to help put together furniture, big guy?” I ask softly tugging his hair.
“Sure, but it’s not going to change anything.” He kisses me then helps me off his lap before he stands. “Anyways we’re going back to bed. I’ll finish the crib tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you can sleep?”
“Don’t worry about me, you need rest.” He flips off the light then captures my hand and leads me down the dark hall to the bedroom. Once we are both in bed, he pulls me against his side and I lay my head on his chest. “We need to start thinking about names soon.”
“Do you have something in mind?” I ask tipping my head back to look at him through the dark.
“I’ve never thought about it before, do you have any names you like?”
“Dayton,” I say, and he chuckles rolling towards me.
“That’s not happening.”
“Dayton Jr.”
“No.” He kisses the top of my head.
“It doesn’t hurt to try.” I press my lips to the underside of his jaw. “Molly sent me a few names, so we can look at those.”
“Are they from guys she’s met on whatever dating app she's using right now?”
“I don’t think so.” I laugh softly.
“I’ll pick up a book tomorrow, and we can start going through it for ideas.”
“Or we could have the kids name the baby. They would all love being involved.”
“I love my nieces and nephews but if we did that, we’d end up with a kid named Hamburger or T. rex.”
“Don’t hate me but I kind of love that, we can call him Hammy for short or Rex depending on which one we decide to go with,” I tell him smiling and his body shakes as he starts to laugh.
The sound of his hilarity stirs the baby, and he pushes his feet and his hands out like he’s trying to get closer to the sound of his dad’s laughter, and feeling him move, Dayton slides his hand across my stomach to where his son is and just holds it there. At his touch our son stills like he recognizes his dad and tears fill my eyes. It’s such a surreal moment, because I know that Dayton can feel the love our son has for him and our son can feel his father’s love. The significance of that is not lost on me. It’s something that will forever be imprinted in my mind as one of the most beautiful moments in my life.
CHAPTER 23
Dayton
Staring out my office window with my phone to my ear I hold my breath as I listen to Charles’ lawyer tell me that he is taking the plea deal we offered weeks ago and that he will provide a full confession for the murder of Alice Groden.
When we presented our case to Judge Brown, he suggested that we offer a plea deal. He said that he believed our case was strong enough to go to trial, but he wanted to give the option to Charles, who is already serving a life sentence.
It left a bad taste in my mouth to even place the offer on the table, but with Alice’s sisters still believing that Greg had something to do with the murder, I knew that there was a chance we could lose and that Charles would get away with another crime.
Still, I never believed that he would take that offer. According to his lawyer, with Charles’ health going downhill the last few years, he’s turned his life over to God and wants a clear conscience.