Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Of course, that wasn’t exactly true, I thought as I winced. I’d been the reason Harper had left – I’d demanded something so unfair from her that she’d had no choice. I saw that now.
But it didn’t really make it any easier or more palatable to think about.
“I’m not getting married any time soon,” I said flatly. “So, you can just get that idea out of your heads right now.”
My father and mother exchanged a glance. I could tell that my father was likely going to get very drunk as soon as I left the brownstone, but I no longer cared. It was his life.
And he wasn’t going to dictate how I lived mine, even if he was my father.
I had hoped for years that my parents would eventually get over this stupid notion of my conforming to their ideals. After all, they’d worked hard to get what they wanted. Why couldn’t they respect that I’d done the same?
And respect that I had no desire to follow in their footsteps?
The tension at the table grew and I cleared my throat.
“Tell me about home,” I said, hoping to placate my parents.
My mother sighed. “Your cousin, Zina, has finally wed,” she said. “The ceremony was beautiful – brought tears to my eyes! And now, she is expecting.”
“What else?” I pressed.
My mother went down the laundry list of extended relatives. In almost every single one of her news bullets, there was news of marriage or a baby or even multiple babies.
It was exhausting.
By the time brunch was over, I was tired and weary. I felt like an old man. My parents had worn me down, just like always, but I wasn’t going to cave. I’d tried several times to bring up Ulrich Sports and the progress I was making at the agency, but they didn’t even care. Nor did they care about my profile in HAUTESCENE and the attention it was likely to bring to my business.
All they gave a fuck about was marriage and a baby.
It was enough to seriously put me out.
I felt myself vibrating with angry, pent-up energy as I left the brownstone after giving my mother and father stiff, formal kisses on the cheek.
No wonder I don’t want to get married, I thought as I shoved my hands in my pockets and strode quickly down the block. Having seen them, could you blame me?
Instead of going home, I went to the gym and worked out until my body was wrung out and dripping with sweat. By the time I had exhausted myself and drained that energy that my parents had filled me with, it was nearly dark.
Still, I didn’t go home. I wandered the streets of Manhattan, glancing around at the crowds of tourists who were eagerly going from bar to bar. I watched couples, walking hand in hand.
Seeing men and women together made me think about Harper. As soon as she popped into my mind, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to clear. I hailed a cab and went home, then took a long shower and changed into track pants and a t-shirt.
A smirk spread across my face as I flopped down on my couch and took out my phone. I pulled up the chat with Harper, then went straight for the jugular.
“What are you wearing?” I texted.
When I saw her reply come up, a grin spread over my face.
20
Harper – Sunday
“What are you wearing?”
The message from Nico popped up on my phone and I blushed scarlet, immediately glad that I’d declined my father’s offer to come into the city for the day. If this ... well, whatever it was with Nico kept up, I was going to have to change my settings and make my messages private.
I’d just put Ada to bed – we’d had another long day. She’d woken up in the middle of the night and for once, I’d caved to her pleas. I’d made popcorn and put on Pixar movies and we’d stayed on the couch together until the sun had come up and Ada was snoozing once more. Normally when she woke up in the middle of the night, I read to her until she fell back asleep. But last night had been different – I’d been lying wide awake in my own bed, thinking about the conversation that I’d had with my father and Topher.
Of course, my father had been concerned. He was wildly protective of me – and Ada – and there was no way he’d want me to jeopardize what Ada and I had, what I’d worked so hard for us to get.
What I couldn’t understand was why Topher was suddenly so invested in my life. He’d always been a protective uncle to Ada, but since he was my younger brother, he’d never really done much to throw his weight around with me. And now, he was acting like I belonged on the FBI’s Most Wanted list because I wanted to keep my daughter a secret.