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It was amazing to me how well she fit in here. She was cleaning off the kitchen table and hanging artwork on the refrigerator. The chef was making her laugh and Brooke was watching everything he was doing, in absolute awe, like my kids at the waterpark the other day.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
The sound of a movie came from the other room, and I followed it to find my kids. Daniel and Sydney were curled up on the couch, taking yet another small nap. I went over and kissed their foreheads before I smoothed their hair from their faces. Turning around, I found Brooke staring at me, like she was in a trance.
“You okay?” I asked.
She jumped a bit, almost as if she was lost in another world.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I got the kitchen cleaned up for the chef”
“Thank you for that,” I said.
“He’s cooking a massive slab of salmon. I mean, it’s gigantic.”
“I told him to cook whatever he wanted for tonight.”
“Well, it looks like it’s going to be delicious.”
I watched her watch my children with adoration in her eyes. She was vibrant and full of life, just how I remembered her from all those years ago. I couldn’t help the hurt that flooded my stomach as I gazed at her beautiful face.
I had done her wrong so many times.
And I wasn't sure if I knew how to make up for it.
All I knew was I wanted to.
CHAPTER 10
BROOKE
As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling of Kevin’s guest room, I felt my heartstrings flutter. He was tugging at them strumming them in a way only he could. But I didn’t like it. I didn't trust him after what he had done to me all those years ago.
Seeing him with his children, though, was a side of him I’d never envisioned back in college. It was beautiful seeing how tender and loving he was with them, how they were the shining apples of his eye. The way he looked at them almost convinced me he had changed, that he was a different man than he was when we first met.
Part of me didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be around him, considering how weak my inhibitions and self-control were around him. But the money he was paying me would be worth the trouble, plus I adored his kids.
Spending time with Kevin was bringing back old memories and it was wearing me down in ways I could never have foreseen. The dinner we all shared the night before over that massive fish with all those vegetables had been the most fun I’d had in years. There were moments where I could’ve sworn he was watching me, looking at me with lust in his eyes. I felt myself heat from the inside, just as I had that night on his porch where I’d lowered my guard enough to let him in.
“Miss Brooke?”
A small knock came at my door as I rolled over and smiled.
“Are you awake?”
“Come on, kids. Let her rest,” Kevin said.
“It’s okay,” I said. “They can come in.”
I heard the door open before two small bodies rushed my bed. Sydney and Daniel clambered up to me, burying their faces into my shoulder. I laid my arms out for them to cuddle in and I pulled them close, almost forgetting that Kevin was there as well, sitting on the edge of the bed with his hand on my thigh.
“I was thinking we could go check out some of the island museums today.”
“Still storming?” I asked.
“They’re calling for storms most of the day, yes,” he said.
“Then museums sound awesome. What do you think, kids?”
