Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
I turn my back on him. “I’m not interested.”
“You better get interested then, girl. I don’t give a shit that you’re pregnant or that you’re married.”
I walk away. I let my father rage as I go. His words don’t mean anything to me anymore. Dad doesn’t run my life, and he never should have. I can see it now so clearly it’s absurd.
I have a warrior in me, and I let that warrior starve to please my impossible father.
Never again.
“Don’t bother coming back!” Dad shouts as I walk down the stoop.
I don’t tell him that I’ll be in Canada for a while. It’s not like he’ll even notice.
I get half a block away before Luca catches up with me. He’s breathing hard and looks at me, and he buries me in a big hug. “It’s okay,” he says, rubbing my back. “He’s just a dick.”
“I know.”
“You all good?”
“I’m fine.”
“Really? A year ago, a fight like that with Dad would’ve set you off.” He leans back, studying me. “But you seem fine.”
“That’s because I’m good. Really, I’m moving on.”
He nods slowly. “Good for you, Carmie.”
“Took me long enough.”
“We all move at our own pace.”
I take my time as I stroll back toward Lev’s house, which is my house too, and I feel better than I’ve felt in years. My father hates me, and that’s okay.
His opinion isn’t important anymore.
But mine is.
Chapter 43
Carmie
Two Months Later
Sofie flops down into the booth next to me and clinks her wine glass against my water. “O Canada, O Canada,” she sings, but since those are the only words she knows, she keeps saying them over and over.
“You sound like a frog,” Gia says, beaming and leaning forward.
“I do not!” Sofie frowns a bit. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“We all know I’ve got the pipes in the group.” Frannie’s on Gia’s side and has her legs stretched out. She’s glassy-eyed from one too many drinks but grinning like a maniac. Despite her pathetic lack of texting skills, she’s actually drop-dead gorgeous: thick, dark hair, full lips, a nose a surgeon would be jealous of, the sort of body that I’ve had to work for but comes totally naturally to her. Frannie comes across like a goon via phone since she generally hates technology, but she’s brilliant and pretty in person.
“If I have to hear you sing one more Taylor Swift song, I swear—” Gia starts.
“It’s not over yet,” Frannie declares. “The Swift shall rise again!” She raises her drink, spills some of it, and laughs as she drinks down the rest.
Sofie leans her head on my shoulder. She’s the soberest of the group. Small, funny, outgoing Sofie, with a huge personality in opposition to her tiny little frame. “We’re going to get kicked out.”
“Don’t worry, they know me here.” Mostly because Le Chat Noir is one of Lev’s latest Canadian business ventures. “I think we’re good.”
“Speaking of good,” Gia says loudly. She’s scanning the crowd, her dark blonde hair bouncing as she moves up and down in her seat. “Where’s that husband of yours? I thought you said he was going to show up.”
“You scared him off.”
“Ah, come on, we’re not that bad,” Frannie protests. “I’m a delight once you get to know me.”
“You’re all a bunch of terrors,” I say, beaming at them.
“Speaking of terror.” Frannie sits up straight and nods into the crowded bar. “Look at them.” She starts drooling over a group of enormous guys with thick flows, and I’d bet my right hand they’re professional hockey players or something.
“Go easy!” Gia calls as Frannie slips out of the booth, clearly on the hunt. She sighs and follows. “I’d better make sure she doesn’t kill someone.”
Once they’re gone, I wrap an arm around Sofie. She seems really relaxed for once and I love it. Normally, she’s extremely high-strung and bouncing off the walls, but it’s like the second she left Philly behind, suddenly she can calm down a bit.
We chat a bit while the girls are busy flirting with the hockey players. Sofie’s interested in the minutiae of my life in Canada, but there’s really not all that much to tell her. We have a nice apartment in downtown Toronto and split our time between here and Montreal, depending on Lev’s business. He’s got his fingers in a dozen different pies while Alex runs the jewelry store and manages their illicit affairs back home. I have an OB right across the border in America in case anything happens and we want to get back home as fast as possible. And otherwise, it’s a normal life.
As normal as things can be, anyway, when Lev’s involved.
The night continues. Frannie strikes out with her flirtation, mostly because he’s married, and Gia drags her back to the table. They order food, more drinks, and by the time midnight rolls around and I’m exhausted, they’re well and truly drunk.