Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
“Oh, sweetie, there’s no need to be jealous. You know I’m only kidding around,” she winks at me, and I roll my eyes, groaning in frustration.
“And you-“
-” she points at Knox, “you couldn’t handle this, honey,” she smiles sweetly, trailing her finger down the side of her body. My mom, ladies and gentlemen, the biggest flirt you’ll ever meet.
I’m so done. He’s winding this box up, and I’m about to hit him on the back of the head if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Zip it, Mom, and you-” I point at Knox, who is staring at me all angelic-furthest thing from it- “you need a muzzle to shut that trap of yours.”
“You know, baby doll, there are other ways-“
“Stop it! Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I’m going upstairs away from this ‘talk’ and put a damn shirt on! Nobody wants to see that!” I use my fingers to quote the word ‘talk’, pointing at his body, and leaving the kitchen.
After changing into my bikini, I get a knock on the door. I turn to see Adam smiling in the doorway, both hands resting on the frame, swinging his leg back and forth.
“Hey there, cutie pie!” I scoop him up into my arms, hugging him tightly.
“Alex, are you mad at Knox?”
My eyebrows shoot up, and I stare at him, confused as to where that came from.
My eyebrows shoot up, and I stare at him, confused as to where that came from.
“Um, no-did he send you up here to find out if I was mad at him?” He stares at me, thinking hard about whether to rat his uncle out or not.
But he smiles wider, wraps his arms around my neck, and rests his little head on my chest. I’ll take that as a yes.
“Ugh, Adam! Not what we talked about, buddy. You were meant to get an answer and not give in to her,” I hear his voice around the corner, making his way into sight.
He stands at the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms folded, making his arms look bigger, still with no shirt on.
Looking up to his face, thank God he’s not looking at me, or else he would’ve seen me checking him out. He’s pretending to glare at Adam, who is giggling at his poor attempt to be mad at him. You cannot be mad at this kid.
“So you used your nephew to see if I was annoyed at you?” I ask him, capturing his attention.
“Pretty much, yeah. Don’t give me that look. He uses me to get to you all the time, you know this!” Adam’s enthusiastic nod sends me into a fit of laughter, coaxing a smile from Knox.
I return the smile, bending down to grab the lotion from my bed. With Adam in my arms, I walk past Knox and head downstairs.
Once we reach the beach, I slather sunscreen on Adam before he dashes into the water. He calls for me to watch him, so I stand at the water’s edge, hands on my hips, letting the cool waves lap over my feet.
Suddenly, Andy leaps onto my back, nearly causing me to stumble. I recover quickly, steadying myself. Adam and Noah are diving in the water, glancing back at us for approval. We cheer them on, encouraging their repeated dives.
“Noah is just adorable. I can’t handle it. He says the sweetest things to me,” Andy gushes over my shoulder.
“I know, it’s the same with Adam. They’re the cutest little boys I’ve ever seen. They’ll grow up to be such sweet boys, unlike these idiots.”
A roar and a squeal behind us make us turn around. Kyle is chasing Eden, their antics making us giggle.
“Knox, help me!” Eden pleads. Knox, ever the hero, scoops her up with ease and carries her over to us. Kyle follows, tickling Eden and making her squirm in Knox’s arms. She wraps her arms around Knox’s neck, laughing over his shoulder at Kyle’s silly faces.
“You’re so cute,” Andy comments.
“She is, isn’t she?” Knox agrees, lost in thought with the little girl clinging to him.
“Well, yeah, but I meant Kyle.” Andy’s comment earns her a look from Kyle that widens her smile. She slides off my back as he approaches, taking his hand as they wade deeper into the water.
I can’t help but smile at them. They’re so perfect for each other, it’s almost surreal. That leaves me, Knox, and Eden standing in the water together.
I look down at my feet, shuffling them in the water, stirring up small waves and moving the shells beneath the surface. The sea is calm today, so surfing will have to wait.
“Baby doll,” I hear Eden call. I turn to see her arms open, ready for me to take her. I lift her from Knox and settle her on my hip.
A silence falls between us, broken only when Eden asks, “Alex, are you mad at Knox?” I shoot him a deadpan look, earning a grin in return.
I lean in close to Eden and whisper, “Tell Knox I will be if he keeps using kids to talk to me.” She giggles and leans over to relay the message to Knox, causing me to tighten my grip on her.
“She says she will be if you keep using kits to-um-talk to her.”
“Kids, sweetie, not kits,” I correct her, laughing along with Knox. “How about you go find some rocks and we can paint them later? Hmm?” I suggest to Eden. She wriggles out of my arms, nearly taking my bikini top with her, and runs off to collect rocks in her bucket.
“That was a close one!” I mumble to myself, adjusting my top.
“Not close enough, unfortunately,” Knox comments. I slap his arm, giving him a stern look, but he just laughs it off. I glance over at Andy and Kyle, where she’s perched on top of him, legs wrapped around his waist. He’s whispering something against her lips, making her smile and throw her head back in laughter. I can’t help but wish I had that with someone.
When you’ve just broken up with someone, all you see are couples in love. Like the ones out in the distance, practically dry humping each other in the water, sucking each other’s faces off. That’s a bit much.
All I can hear are the sounds of laughter and the waves crashing further out. It’s so serene. This is what I miss about this place.
The wind blowing through your hair, the sun beating down on your skin, the spray of seawater when people run by chasing each other.
“What’s on your mind?” Knox breaks the silence between us. I shake my head, looking out at the sea, then turn to face him. My eyes widen at the sight of the girls crowding the beach behind him.
He follows my gaze, then shrugs his shoulders. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Yeah-” he admits, looking down at his feet shuffling in the shallow water, “but I ignore it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering and all, it’s just… I’m not interested.”
“Knox, you could have any woman on their knees begging for you to look at them, and you’re not interested?”
“Nope, I only want one woman, but it’s complicated.”
“Why do you keep saying it’s complicated? What’s so complicated about it? Just ask her out, I’m sure she’ll say yes. You’re making it complicated.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.