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)
“Mandy, listen to me.” Her eyes widen at the nickname. I’ve never heard her called that before, and I’ve never heard Bellamy call her that. It just kind of rolled off my tongue, and I’m going with it. “I want to help. I’m here. I have nothing but a big, empty house waiting for me at home. Let me help you. Go take a bath, read for a while, or whatever you need to do. I’ll watch Mia.”
Tears glisten in her eyes. She steps toward me, and I’m certain she’s going to take Mia from my arms and tell me to stop bossing her around, but that’s not even close. She steps up to me, offers me a watery smile, and wraps her arms around my waist. Mia gets in on the action, reaching for her mom’s hair, and I wrap my free arm around Amanda, hugging her tightly.
I make a mental note to tell my son-in-law how grateful I am for him loving my daughter. I don’t know if I could handle watching Bellamy struggle the way Amanda seems to be. Hell, it’s hard enough watching Amanda.
“Thank you,” she whispers before stepping out of my embrace.
I watch her disappear down the hall, and the next thing I hear is the beep of the washer. She’s starting some laundry. Good. “All right, Little Miss, what do you say we tackle those blocks over there?” I point to the soft basket full of blocks and carry her toward it. Sitting with her in my lap, I start to stack them. Mia is content to sit and watch until I get about five blocks high. She reaches out and knocks them over, and I gasp, tickling her. She giggles, and we do it all over again.
By the time the knock comes at the door, Mia and I have mastered building and tearing down blocks, and Amanda sat the last fifteen minutes or so with her feet propped up, watching us with a soft smile on her lips.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.
Eight
Amanda
* * *
Tonight has been… unexpected. The now-empty pizza box is still open on the coffee table, grease marks marinating the cardboard. The three of us scarfed down a large pizza and a large breadstick as if we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from.
I watch as my daughter snuggles up to Will, not willing to leave him for a single second. He held her and fed her while feeding himself because she refused to come to me. I’m not gonna lie, every time, it stings a little, but there’s a bigger part of me that’s thrilled.
Outside of Reid, and sometimes the guys when they’re around, Mia is mostly around women. I’m glad that she has men in her life who treat her well and lavish her with love. Did I think that man would ever be my best friend’s dad? No way in hell, but here we are, and it’s easy to see how good he is with her, and she’s completely smitten with him.
Not that I blame her. Sure, he’s almost twenty years older than me, but Coach Warner is a hottie. It’s obvious he takes care of his body, and not gonna lie, that salt-and-pepper hair of his is doing it for me. I could never tell him that, or my best friend. Shit, I shouldn’t even be thinking it, but it’s true all the same. William Warner has still got it.
“What’s got you blushing over there?” Will asks.
Shit. “Nothing, just thinking about how embarrassing it was that you had to come and bail me out today. Thank you again. I truly appreciate it.” It’s not a complete lie, but hopefully, he believes me. I am embarrassed, but not as embarrassed as I am thinking about how hot he is. Bellamy would never forgive me if she could hear how I’m thinking about her dad. I’m tired. That has to be it. It’s been a long, stressful day, and he’s here taking care of us, spending time with Mia, indulging her. That’s all this is.
“Mandy, I promise, it was nothing. I wanted to help. I was happy to,” he assures me, unaware that his new nickname for me warms my soul. My ex hated nicknames. In fact, he never called me anything but Amanda. No cute names that the couples in my life use, no nicknames, not “my wife,” just Amanda. I guess that should have been my first red flag that our marriage was doomed, but I was just too in love with him to see it.
The wool is no longer pulled over my eyes. All the nights he kept pushing me away, on top of finding out he cheated on me and got his assistant pregnant, all while we were supposed to be starting our adoption journey together, that killed any love I ever had for him.