Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 20030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Star Moreno came to the orphanage to adopt a child.
Instead, she ends up testing out a fake marriage with Wynd Sullivan.
The brooding tycoon doesn't smile, doesn't share, and definitely doesn't do love.
But he does other things.
Like ruin her favorite dress.
And make her forget all the rules she used to live by.
The future has never looked hotter, I mean, brighter.
Until the man who told her not to fall in love...is the one walking away before he falls for her first.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Wynd
I'VE FOUND HIM.
A dark-haired boy, quiet and self-contained in a way that reminded Wynd of himself at that age, when the world had taught him that survival meant never needing anyone.
He closed his eyes for one moment.
Just one moment to allow himself to consider if he was making a mistake.
He was not.
This was what he wanted. And just like that, his mind was made up. He was not, had never been, and would never be the type to second-guess himself.
Wynd turned to leave and was already halfway to the door when he saw her.
And everything stopped.
She stood just a few feet away from the boy, her face turned toward the child with a sweet and wistful expression that made Wynd's chest ache for some reason. There was something about her that set him on edge. But at the same time, he found himself unable to tear his gaze away. He couldn't seem to stop staring, with how everything about her seemed to smile.
Her eyes, soft and brown, held a light that spoke of hope even when logic suggested there wasn't much reason for it. Her lips, naturally curved upward at the corners, looked as if they had been designed for laughter.
And then there was her soul.
Wynd couldn't even remember the last time he had thought of anyone's soul before.
But this girl...
She clearly had one.
A beautiful, luminous thing that seemed to shine from within, and it was this soul of hers that had him watching her like he had never watched any woman in his life.
The pair of gold hoops dangling from her ears sparkled every time she turned her head, catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows. It was the perfect match for how her whole being seemed to radiate a sunny sense of joy, the kind that might even be enough to thaw the walls of ice from which he operated.
The dress she wore was modest, exquisitely so. Navy blue with spring flowers at the hem, it covered her from throat to knee with a propriety that should have been boring. Instead, it made him crave what he could not see. And even obsess over the innocent sway of her hips as she moved closer to the boy.
What, he actually found himself musing, would it feel like to have his fingers crush the softness of her flesh as he held her hips still?
What sound would she make if he were to slowly enter her for the first time?
And what would it feel like to have himself fully buried inside of her?
The more he looked at her, the more he wanted her.
But just as he started planning the logistics of making her his mistress, it was then he noticed how she was looking around...and Wynd realized he had gotten it all wrong.
This woman was not working for the orphanage.
Nor was she one of the social workers whose names he had memorized from the facility's website.
As incredible as it seemed, she was apparently much older than she looked, because it was clear from the way she was gazing around the room while wearing her heart on her sleeve...
She was here for the same reason he was.
Star
I'M FORTY-ONE YEARS old, and I've never been kissed.
Three years ago, I was also told by my OB that I'm infertile, and it's incurable.
But because I've always been the kind of girl who just can't help seeing the positive in everything, and this was way before I came to know God—
I'm just so happy, you know?
Because today is the day I'm about to meet the most important person in my life.
"Ms. Moreno?" A woman with a clipboard approaches me with a warm smile. "Feel free to interact with the children. They've all been prepared for visitors today."
"Thank you." It takes real effort to just smile warmly back and I have to clasp my hands behind my back to keep myself from throwing my arms around her like I really want to.
Gotta keep calm, I remind myself.
Hope Rises is the elite of San Antonio's childcare facilities, and it's taken me three reference letters and agreeing to a background check just to get my name on the list for one of their bi-annual invite-only open houses.
I need to do everything I can to make sure they consider me a suitable would-be parent, and that's not going to happen if I'm my usual exuberant self.
Stay calm, I urge myself yet again as I take my time looking around me and observing what everyone's doing. The large playroom buzzes with quiet activity: couples talking to each other in hushed whispers, social workers jotting down notes on one side, and last but certainly not the least, I see children clearly doing everything they can to impress future parents, and just watching them makes my heart ache so, so bad.
Oh, if only.