Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
There’s a princess movie playing on the big screen, toys strung everywhere, and both girls are dressed in pink dresses, their heads crowned with tiaras. What has me biting my cheek to keep from laughing is that Will also has a bright pink tiara on his head.
“Manda!” Coral screeches when she spots me and takes off running, the tulle of her princess dress that she has on over her pajamas flying behind her. I bend over and catch her as she jumps into my arms. “We pway pwincess.” She points to her dress.
“I can see that. You’re very beautiful.” I kiss her cheek.
“Mia and Papa.” She points to where Will has Mia on his hip, both of them wearing matching smiles.
“Looks like this is where the party’s at.”
Will grins. “You know it,” he says, before asking, “Is everything okay?”
“It is now. The date was a disaster. I left. The guys kicked him from the table.”
Will furrows his brow. “What happened?”
I wave my hand that’s not holding Coral in the air. “It’s already forgotten. Too judgy and wasn’t a fan of single moms.” I shrug.
“Idiot,” Will mumbles.
“I’ll trade you,” I tell him, nodding to Mia.
“What? No, we just got this party started.”
“Well, Mia and I are going to head home. I’m going to order us some greasy pizza and relax.”
“Did you hear that, Mia? Mommy wants some of our pizza.” He bops her on the nose, making her laugh, before turning his gaze back to mine. “I ordered a large, more than what the three of us can eat. Stay. Eat dinner.”
Before I can answer, the doorbell rings. I move toward him and reach for Mia, keeping Coral on my hip. She flashes me a grin, then turns her head as she grips on to Will’s T-shirt as if her life depends on it.
“There’s my girl,” he praises her. “Let’s go get the pizza,” he tells her, turning on his heel and moving toward the front door to get dinner.
“Come on into the kitchen,” he says, the smell of pizza filling the air as he moves past us.
Following him into the kitchen, I see a mess on the counter and the two high-chair trays. “I thought the girls had already eaten.”
“They did. I made them grilled cheese and SpaghettiOs, and then we had some applesauce.”
“And y’all need to eat again?” I ask, chuckling.
“I need to eat, and if they wanted a bite or two, I was going to share. Now that you’re here, you can help me eat this.” He nods toward the pizza as he places it on the large kitchen island.
“I can watch them while you eat. I’m sure you need a break.”
“What? A break? No way. Sit.” He nods toward the table. “Mia’s in the big high chair, and Coral is in the smaller one strapped to the chair,” he explains, and I get to work placing Coral in her chair. She immediately picks up a leftover puff, shoving it into her mouth.
“Come to Mommy,” I say as I approach Will and Mia. She turns her head again, and I’m not gonna lie, it hurts my heart just a little.
“Take a break, Momma. Here.” Will hands me a paper plate. “Serve yourself up a couple of slices. What do you want to drink?”
“Oh, um, water is fine. Are you sure this is okay?”
“More than sure.” With my daughter still on his hip, as if it’s her new favorite place to be, he grabs two bottles of water from the fridge and places them on the table before going back and making himself a plate. Once he sets it on the table, he tries to put Mia in her high chair, but she cries and clings to him.
“Mia,” I coo. “I’m sorry. She’s not normally like this.”
“We bonded earlier. She had a poopy diaper as soon as you all left.” He laughs. “And maybe this little cutie knows that her mommy was supposed to be getting a break tonight. Just because you’re back early doesn’t mean you can’t sit and eat a meal without tending to someone else.” He nods toward the chair, and I take it.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He takes a seat, props Mia up on his thigh, pulls off a pepperoni, blows on it, and then places it on Coral’s tray. She grabs for it immediately, licks it, then squeezes it in her hands.
“So, tell me about tonight,” he says, holding up a piece of crust with sauce only, since he tore the cheese off, and offering it to Mia. She turns her head and rests against his shoulder. I watch as he kisses the top of her head, before popping the bite he offered her into his mouth.
I part my lips to blow him off, but find myself relaying the entire conversation, all five minutes of it. “So, yeah, I was just ready to come home.”