CHAPTER 14
BROOKE

Kevin was eerily silent all through breakfast before he headed out for his meeting, and the day before hadn’t been any easier. I spent most of the day consoling an upset Sydney and fielding questions from Daniel as to why their Daddy was working when he said he wouldn’t. And my heart broke for them. His children were being affected by his inability to separate his personal life from his work. I could tell it was taking its toll on Kevin as well.

But part of me was worried that it could’ve been something else. His distance toward me personally might have had something to do with me waking up in his bed that morning. He had said that he was okay with it, but Kevin never did know how to be anything else but cordial. Even when he was upset, his tone was even and his eyes were kind, and it made him hard to read.

Was he being distant because he thought I was getting too close again?

I kept replaying the events of that night in my head. Technically, I was the one that made the move on him that night. I had pulled off his clothes and taken his cock into my mouth while a storm had raged both inside and outside of the house. Just thinking about it made my arms prickle with delight.

But I hadn’t meant to fall asleep in his bed. I had every intention of slipping away from him and going back to my room. I knew that he wouldn’t take time away from his kids on my account, but I still didn’t like the distance that seemed to be looming between us.

Maybe I was reading it all wrong though. Or maybe it was two separate situations. Either way, I needed to be more careful with him if I didn’t want my heart broken all over again.

“Hey, kids! What do you say we go shopping today?” I asked.

“Shopping for what?” Daniel asked.

“Anything. You guys want some new clothes? Or maybe a new toy to play with in the water?” I asked.

“Could I get a new dress?” Sydney asked.

“Of course, you can. Daniel?”

“Could we eat lunch out?” he asked.

“Of course, we can. We’ll find somewhere on the ocean so we can watch the waves while we eat. And, we can even get dessert. How does that sound?”

“Sounds awesome,” he said, with a smile.

“Come on. Let’s get you guys ready.”

I helped the kids dress before I pulled a quick sundress over my body. I grabbed my purse, making sure I had Kevin’s credit card. I needed some more shampoo and conditioner anyway, and I noticed the milk was running low in the house. I made a note of anything else we needed to pick up while we were out and called a cab.

“Where do you guys wanna start?” I asked.

“Toys?” Daniel asked.

“But what about my dress?” Sydney asked.

“We’ll do both. I promise. Let’s go to the dress store first, then we’ll do the toys. Does that sound good?” I asked.

“Okay,” Daniel said. “But we gotta hurry. I’m already hungry.”

“You are? Man, you can really put away some food,” I said.

“Daddy says I’m growing big and strong,” he said.

“Well, then maybe that’s what happening. Maybe you’ll wake up tomorrow and be taller than me.”

“But you’re really tall,” Sydney giggled.

“And you’re really pretty,” I said.

We weaved in and out of the island shops, and the kids were running in all directions. I had the best time shopping with them, and we were coming out of stores with armloads of stuff. Sydney had a new summer dress and Daniel found a shirt he claimed was just like one his dad had. They got new sandals and some toys for the beach to keep at the house, and we even ducked in to get them some more sunblock and other toiletries I knew they needed.

We piled everything into the cab to get it all back to the house, then we set off for lunch. We found a wonderful little place that served the best fish tacos while sitting on the veranda and watching the waves roll in. Daniel was holding his sister’s hand as they lost themselves in the rhythmic patterns, and I smiled as I watched the two of them bond.

With each passing day, I was becoming more and more attached to them. The day was wonderful and we stayed out so long walking around the island that Kevin beat us back to the house. The kids ran up the stairs and piled into his arms, but the look on his face told me things still weren’t okay.

He looked into my eyes before diverting them quickly and I felt my stomach sink to my toes.

“You guys hungry for dinner?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah. We walked around all day, Daddy,” Sydney said.

“Then you guys are really hungry, huh?” he asked.

“Can we go back to the fish tacos place?” Daniel asked.

“You ate fish tacos?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah. They were awesome, Dad.”

He looked up at me briefly before looking back down at his son.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel as welcome as I had before.

“Then we can go back and have more fish tacos,” Kevin said.

“Yay! Thanks, Daddy,” Sydney said. “We can watch the ocean again. It was so pretty.”

“You can watch the ocean from here you know,” he grinned.

“No. The ocean is for swimming here,” Daniel said. “That ocean is for looking.”

“Oh. Okay. Got it,” Kevin said.

We all piled into a cab and headed back to the restaurant we were at earlier, this time, the kids were squished in between Kevin and me. Instead of sitting beside him like he usually insisted, he was putting space between us. He didn’t sit by me at dinner or try to steal glances like I knew him to do. I didn’t feel his foot creeping closer to mine or anything of the sort. He was present with his children but distant toward me, and I felt myself regretting the decision to stay.

The kids fell asleep getting back home so Kevin and I had to carry them up to their rooms. We tucked them in and I kissed Sydney’s forehead, staring down at her peaceful face. Her grin was contagious, and I felt one slowly crawling across mine.

Until I heard Kevin retreat from the bedroom without me.

Instead of snaking my way into the kitchen and talking, I went straight to my room. I didn’t want to see him or talk with him or interact in any way. If he wanted distance, I would give it to him. I did have a book that needed to be written after all, and I hadn’t touched the damn thing in days.

“Here it goes,” I said with a sigh.

I pulled out my laptop and hooked it up. I placed pillows against my back and leaned into the headboard. I opened my manuscript and read through what I had already written, painting the picture of the woman in my story. Strong. Independent. Quiet, but not a pushover. And the man, with his hills of muscles and his tall stature. Looming in the darkness. Watching his island girl. Making sure she was safe and happy, despite the fact that he didn’t even know her name.

I was able to type up a few more paragraphs, but the imagery wasn’t coming after that.

I shut my laptop and tossed it to the side. This was fucking ridiculous. I’d never struggled this much to write before.

I drew back the covers and resolved myself to a decent night’s rest. Hopefully, my dreams would bring about the rest of the story that wanted to flood through my fingers. I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable as tears rose to my eyes.

But when sleep finally took me under, it wasn’t my characters in the story or the island they were on that I dreamt of. It wasn’t the lighthouse the woman lived in or the chiseled architecture of the male protagonist I saw in my dreams.

It was Kevin.