My House, My Rules Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought her legs were a little heavy. It was the short person's curse to have heavy thighs and a rather large butt.
    She barely even looked at herself in the mirror these days. There hadn't been time enough to go buy something else. If she'd gone swimming with the boys at all, it had been in this pool, not on a public beach, and her old bikini had sufficed. She hadn't been trying to look good or to attract a man. Was that what she was trying to do now? Maybe. She thought of that afternoon in the bath. Geez. Was that wrong? It had been three years. She knew to the day how long it'd been, her mom and her sister kept reminding her. They never stopped telling her how badly she and the boys needed a man in their lives. How she needed a man in her life and in her bed, her sister had added whenever they were alone.
    “Mommy, please?” Aaron called.
    “I'm coming,” she said. “Just give me a minute, honey.” To build up enough courage to walk across there practically naked, she thought. She couldn't remember ever being this nervous. Jay probably wouldn't be interested in her when he got a good look at her. She had baggage, and it wasn't just on her giant ass. She glanced at him a little shyly. He was a looker. His hair was dark and cropped fairly close to his head. There was such a sparkle in those eyes, and they were a glorious, soft blue. Then there was the stubble that had tickled her when he kissed her, and not just her face. His abs were rock hard. She wondered what it'd be like to run her hands down that hard belly.
    “Ooohhh!” she screeched as she felt a cool splash of water.
    “Penny for them?” Jay asked from the edge of the pool.
    Alex panicked for a split second, and then she ran and dove into the water so he wouldn't see. Wouldn't see her panic or the X-rated thoughts that brought it on.
     
    * * *
     
    “I'm c…c…cold, Mom,” Thom said, shivering after half an hour of swimming.
    “Me too,” Aaron stuttered.
    “Okay,” Alex said. “Time we went home.” She wrapped each of the boys in a big towel.
    Jay found himself feeling strangely disappointed. “You sure?” he said. “They could get dressed, and we could rug them up in the living room with a movie.”
    “Please?” Aaron shivered.
    “Can we, Mom?” Thom asked through chattering teeth.
    “You sure you're not sick of us yet?” she asked.
    “I'm sure,” he said pointedly. “Now let's get these boys inside and warmed up.”
     
    * * *
     
    “This is a nice blanket,” Thom said, pulling the warm patchwork quilt around him tightly.
    “So's this one,” Aaron said. “It's real warm.”
    “My mom made them,” Jay said. “It's kind of her specialty. Now what are you two going to watch?”
    “Do you have Spiderman?” Aaron asked.
    “No, but I have a Harry Potter one, I think.” Jay hunted on the shelf to see what movies he had that would be suitable for kids.
    “I don't like Harry Potter,” Aaron whined.
    “Harry Potter's cool,” Thom said.
    “Not to me!”
    “He's tired, Thom,” Alex said.
    Jay came up with a different movie that he hoped would pass muster. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid?”
    “Yes!” both boys said together.
    “Wine?” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the much sought after peace after the movie started.
    “Please,” she said.
    “Let's go out on the patio where we can talk,” he said, carrying the bottle in one hand and two glasses in another.
     
    * * *
     
    So what do you do for a living?” she asked. “Here in the city I mean.” She realized that she knew very little about him. Except for the fact that he'd grown up on a ranch.
    “I'm an author,” he said. “I write crime novels with a twist.”
    “Really,” she said. “What's the twist?”
    He grinned. “They're crime novels…”
    “I think we established that,” she quipped. “It's the twist I'm interested in.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “I see the smart ass apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.”
    “Language!” she said with a