 by Carly Phillips.jpg)
Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
She’s the one he regrets letting go.
Now they have a second chance to get it right.
When Skye Tremont runs into her sexy former flame, Tripp Daniels, she’s reminded of the baby pact they’d made years ago… If she was single and childless by the age of thirty, he’d step in and be her baby daddy and fulfill her dream of having a child.
Now, after a bitter divorce that has left her guarding her heart, and wanting only one thing, Skye is ready to take Tripp up on his promise. When he’s one of the bachelors up for bid at a charity auction, it’s the perfect opportunity to have him all to herself for a weekend of baby making fun, as long as he agrees to her terms.
Tripp is on board to fulfill the promise he made to Skye. If he’s going to have a baby with anyone, it’s going to be the one woman he’d foolishly let slip through his fingers. But not this time because he’s all in. Skye is even more beautiful than he remembers, and the chemistry between them is hotter than ever, but while she gives him free rein with her body, she’s made it clear her heart is off limits.
Now, with a second chance within his grasp, Tripp is prepared to do whatever it takes to win the woman he loves and give them both the family they’ve always craved.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
“Come on. One last round, and this time show me what you’ve really got.”
Skye Abbott heard her brother’s encouraging voice but kept her focus on the punching bag he held in place for her to pummel. With every solid, direct hit she took, she imagined her ex’s smug, pretentious face.
Punch, punch, kick.
She’d been at today’s kickboxing session for nearly half an hour and felt the burn in her core and every other muscle in her body. Sweat beaded on her skin, and her ponytail smacked her back and shoulders with each jab at her target.
Punch, punch, kick.
The adrenaline rush was exhilarating. As was the capable, confident, empowered feeling coursing through her—all the things her ex had methodically stripped from her during the course of their marriage.
Piece by piece, she’d managed to rebuild her confidence and self-worth, and swore she’d never let herself be that vulnerable again. She ended the round with one final punch, punch, kick, punch, punch.
“Good job,” Spencer said, releasing the bag and grinning at her. “You were a savage today, sis.”
Still breathing hard, she took off her boxing gloves and accepted the bottle of water he held out to her. “That’s because I have an excellent coach.”
Spencer had encouraged her to give kickboxing a try when she’d moved to New York four months ago, after her divorce had been finalized. Not only did he want her to build her strength but also to make sure she had some form of self-defense to fall back on should the need arise.
“Well, you’ve come a long way from your first session,” he said with a laugh.
She chugged half the bottle of water, remembering that day so well. How timid she’d been. Her weak, uncertain punches. Feeling so uncoordinated and awkward. But Spencer had been relentless in his training, demanding she hit harder, faster, and beat the shit out of the bag like her life depended on it.
She appreciated his tough love approach, and gradually, over the past few months she felt her mind and body repairing itself and her return to the old Skye, the one she’d been before she’d met Jack Tremont. After four hellish years, it was as though she’d finally emerged from the stifling cloak of darkness and back into the light.
“So, any plans for tonight?” she asked as she wiped the sweat from her face and neck with a small towel she’d left on a nearby bench.
“Yep.” He glanced at her as they left the gym located in his apartment building and headed for the elevator. “Got a date.”
He waggled his brows, and since said date came without a name, Skye knew that it was probably just one of the casual hook-ups from his “Little Black Book” app. With his sandy blond hair, deep blue eyes, and flirtatious nature, along with being a stockbroker on Wall Street, there was no shortage of women vying for his attention. But her brother was an unapologetic bachelor through and through.
“Want me to find somewhere else to crash for the night?” Like a hotel room. She was starting to feel guilty about living at his place, and therefore hindering his ability to “entertain”, aka have sex with, those dates at home. And the last thing she wanted was to hear her brother in the room next to hers, doing that.
He shook his head and punched the button for the elevator, which immediately opened for them to step inside. “No, I can make other arrangements.”
Which he’d been doing for the past four months. “I’m cramping your style,” she said, and sighed. “I really need to find a place of my own.”
“I told you, there’s no rush,” he said, and she heard the protective tone in his voice. “I want you to feel settled before—”
“I venture out on my own in big, bad New York City?” she finished for him, albeit sarcastically.
His lips pursed in annoyance. “Yes.”
The elevator opened on his floor and she followed him to his apartment, then inside, while arguing her point. “It’s been four months since I moved here and it’s time. You can’t protect me forever.”
“I’m your big brother,” he said, turning to face her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “It’s my job to be overbearing and protective.”
She saw the pained look in his eyes, and knew the source. He’d worn that same expression the day she’d finally found the courage to leave Jack, and Spencer had picked her up, bringing her to her parent’s home with one suitcase holding all her meager possessions. He’d already been furious with her husband for his mental and emotional abuse, but Spencer had taken one look at her, and his anger had dissolved into guilt, because he hadn’t realized how bad things had become. Especially when she told him that Jack had finally crossed a line and hit her.