My Cover Model (A Love Like That #1) - R.L. Kenderson Page 0,89

facial hair. He pulled at the collar of his bow tie. “I feel like I’m choking. This is one of the reasons I’m a personal trainer and a model. I either wear workout clothes or no clothes,” he joked even though I’d seen him dressed up in several photos. He smiled at me. “But it’s worth it.”

“Only if I win.”

Travis smiled. “Even if you don’t win. It’s not every day your book gets nominated for a RITA Award.”

I grinned. He was right.

“I love that you know what a RITA Award is.”

I knew everyone said it was just an honor to be nominated, and others scoffed at them, but at this point in my career, it really was an honor. Maybe if I was nominated several times and didn’t win, then I’d think differently. But I wasn’t there.

There was a knock on the adjoining door to our hotel room, and the door opened.

“Do you want to say good-bye to the kids now?” Bonnie asked. “Chad and I are going to take them down to the pool.”

Two-year-old Ava came running through the door until she hit my legs. “I go swimming, Mama!”

I picked her up and hugged her close. “I heard. That sounds like fun. But you’d better listen to everything Grandma and Grandpa tell you, okay?”

She nodded. “I promise.”

She wiggled in my arms, and I let her down. She immediately ran behind me.

“I go swimming, Daddy.”

Travis laughed and picked her up.

While I left those two to say good night, I walked into Chad and Bonnie’s room to pick up the baby.

“Hey, Noah.” I picked him up. “How’s Mama’s big boy? You look so cute in your swimsuit.”

His shorts went down past his knees, and his baby belly stuck out. He was adorable.

My nine-month-old grinned at me and grabbed at my necklace, tugging on it.

“Be careful, baby. Don’t break it.”

He ignored me and put the necklace in his mouth.

Travis and Ava walked in as I asked, “You’ll be careful with Noah in the pool?”

Travis laughed at his mother’s insulted face.

“I’m sorry. I just worry.” I kissed Noah on the cheek. “I just love this little guy.”

Bonnie held out her arms. “I promise to take care of him.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile and handed the baby over.

“You ready?” Travis asked.

“Yep.” I kissed Noah’s forehead and Ava’s cheek. “Be good,” I told her.

“’Kay.” Her answer probably meant she hadn’t listened to me at all.

“We’ll see you in the morning.”

“’Kay, Mama.” When Chad came out of the bathroom, Ava grabbed his hand. “Let’s go swimming.”

Chad smiled. “You two have fun.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Travis put his arm around me and led me back to our room. “Come on, sexy. Let’s go win that award.”

We made sure we had everything we needed and were off to the Romance Writers of America Awards Ceremony where I was up for a RITA award, which was thankfully in the same building.

***

Hours later, after the RITA awards after-party, Travis and I headed up to our room.

He pulled me close to him in the elevator. “You okay with not winning?”

I looked up at him. “I really am. And I lost to a great writer and a good book.”

He kissed my forehead, and the doors opened.

We walked down the hall to our room, and Travis slid the card into the lock.

“But I was thinking…” I said as the latch clicked behind us.

“What’s that?” he asked as he removed his tie.

I watched as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. His T-shirt was next, and I was met with his glorious upper body. He was putting on a show for me, and he didn’t even know it. He was in his early thirties now and still modeled but not as much as he used to. He ran his own gym now with a friend—plus, we had a family—so it was harder for him to find time to go to shoots.

I grinned and stepped forward. Running my hands down his chest and abdomen, I said, “I might need some of your personal cheering up.”

Travis raised his brow. “Oh, yeah?”

I slipped my hand underneath the waistband of his pants and wrapped my fingers around his cock. “Oh, yeah.”

He unfastened his pants and pushed them off his hips. But then he pulled my hand away and swung me around.

He slowly unzipped the back of my dress, running his finger down my spine as he went.

A shiver racked my body.

My dress fell to the floor, and he led me over to the bed. He got