Adored (LOVE LETTERS #1) - Kristen Blakely Page 0,20
of me.”
“There is so much more to you.” Rowan’s voice came to her as if from a great distance away. In her sleep, she smiled and held on to his words as if they were the lighthouse that would guide her safely back to shore.
Vera awoke with a jerk to a spray of sand over her face. “What—?”
Rowan winced. “Sorry. She was too fast for me.”
Allison waved her now-empty bucket over her mother. She wore her favorite pout and pointed at her stomach. “Hungry!”
“There’s food in the cooler,” Vera said.
Rowan shook his head. “Not anymore. Most of the Cheerios spilled in the sand, but she finished both jars of her baby food, all the pear slices, and half the watermelon.”
“What? That’s way more than she usually eats.”
“Building sandcastles is very strenuous,” he said.
Vera looked around and found herself in the courtyard of a gargantuan sandcastle that had evidently been built around her while she slept. “Wow.”
Rowan flashed a grin at Allison. “We did all that, didn’t we, Alli-naut?”
“Yup.” Allison thumped her spade on the sand. “More!”
“What time is it?” Vera asked.
“About four thirty.”
“What?” Had she slept for two hours? Vera released her hair from the ponytail and tried to shake out the sand. “I didn’t think we would be out here for so long. I guess we’re all out of water too?”
“Just about.” Rowan watched as the little master builder transformed into Godzilla. Sections of the sandcastle crumbled from Allison’s monstrous rampage. “I’d give her an hour before she melts down from too much sugar and too little sleep. She’s all yours now, by the way.” He winked and grinned.
Vera laughed. “Oh, you’re too kind.”
His smile warmed. “If you have an extra change of clothes, my hotel’s just across the street, perfect for a quick shower before dinner.”
“Sure, why not?”
Rowan’s help made reloading the car a great deal easier and faster than unloading it. Within fifteen minutes, they were back at his room at the W Hotel. Vera rinsed Allison and changed her into clean clothes, and then handed her to Rowan, before undressing and hopping into the shower.
She did linger in the shower longer than she had to. It should have felt overly familiar and inappropriate to use the hotel room of a man she had met no more than a week ago, but her and Allison’s ease around Rowan made the odd situation comfortable.
How fast could a woman fall in love, she wondered?
She stepped out of the shower, toweled herself dry, and changed into a forest green T-shirt and denim jeans. Damn it. In the chaos of making sure that Allison had everything she needed, Vera had forgotten to pack her full makeup kit. Her compact powder and lip gloss would have to suffice.
The cosmetics might have helped some, but Vera decided the radiant woman in the mirror who stared back at her owed more to an amazing foot massage the previous night, a long afternoon nap, and the unflagging attention of a gorgeous man who lavished tenderness on her and doted on her daughter.
Vera stepped out of the bathroom, stopped short, and laughed. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I suppose I should have hurried.”
Rowan shrugged as he looked at the little girl fast asleep in the middle of the king-sized bed. “I don’t think it would have helped. Toothpicks couldn’t prop her eyes open.”
“So much for dinner on Las Olas.”
“There’s always room service,” he said. “Do you think she’ll sleep through the night?”
Vera glanced at her watch. “Actually, I’ll bet on two or three hours. She’ll probably wake and want something to eat.”
“Well, that puts us right at a reasonable dinnertime. How about drinks and appetizers here in the room, and then we can go out, or not, when she wakes?”
“Sounds great.”
“Good. Why don’t you call in the order while I shower?” He handed her the room service menu.
Moments later, the sound of running water started up in the bathroom. Vera sank into a chair and perused the menu before picking up the phone.
“Whatever/Whenever at your service, Mr. Forrester,” a pleasant female voice said. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to place a room service order.”
“Certainly, ma’am,” the operator switched the honorific without missing a beat. “What can I get for you?”
Vera placed the order and then hung up. The appetizers and drinks arrived before Rowan stepped out of the bathroom. His chestnut brown hair was still damp, the ends curling against the nape of his neck, and he was dressed as simply as she