Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“And then one day, Joshua asked me out on a date and I said yes.”
“No,” Danica almost wails with disappointment.
“Yes,” I repeat. “And that led to another date, and eventually, it led to marriage.”
“No,” Danica says again, and she looks like she might cry. “You belong with Callum.”
I grimace over the welling of bitter feelings, but I notice they’re less today than they were yesterday. I’m getting over it the more time I spend with Callum and I’m reminded what a good guy he is. “I married Joshua and, well… it wasn’t a fairy tale.”
“What was it?” Sophie asks hesitantly.
“Eventually, it became abusive. He was controlling, alienated me from friends and liked to slap me around whenever he felt like it.”
“Oh fuck,” Jenna growls protectively. “Please tell me there’s a point in the story where Joshua gets his ass handed to him.”
I shrug noncommittally. “I don’t know about that. Callum saw bruises on me, figured out what was going on, and next thing I know, I’m in Pittsburgh.”
Ava reaches across the counter and grabs my wrist. “At the risk of sounding like I know way too much when I might not, you don’t seem like the type to stay with an abusive man.”
“I’d like to think I’m not,” I reply with a mirthless laugh. I then explain about my father and there’s more swooning when I tell them that Callum moved my dad here, which is truly what enabled me to leave Joshua.
“And you and Callum—” Jenna nudges me for information. “Any second chances there?”
“No way,” I say with a wild wave, spilling wine all over my hand. I curse and grab a napkin to wipe it up, continuing my denials. “Our time is past. But I am grateful for all he’s done and once I get my divorce settlement, I’ll be able to figure out where I want to go. Maybe I’ll take my dad down to Florida. Somewhere warm, where the water is blue.”
“Or you could stay here and rekindle things with Callum,” Danica says, her tone unyielding, like there’s no other alternative. I peg her as the real romantic of the group.
“That’s just not on my radar,” I reply with a kind smile. “I’ve got an asshole husband to divorce and a father to take care of.”
I don’t want to talk about it anymore, so I start rounding up the empty cake plates, intent on turning my back on the women with the ruse of loading the dishwasher.
“You can do all of the above, you know,” Sophie says. Her voice is so soft, I barely hear it, but it’s said with such conviction, she makes me pause. I glance over my shoulder at her. “You can divorce Joshua, take care of your dad and see if something happens with Callum. None of it is either or.”
I shake my head. “He broke my heart, Sophie. He ended things with me. I’m not sure I could trust him again.”
Sophie waves her hand. “That was forever ago. I’m not condoning what he did, but he made a choice. He made the choice of a young man and I bet Callum would say it was the wrong choice if you ever asked him.”
I don’t need to ask him. He already told me it was the worst mistake of his life.
“You should give him another shot,” Danica says.
“You should,” Jenna agrees and Ava nods along effusively.
“You ladies are drunk,” I say with a laugh as I turn to the sink, plates in hand.
“Just why are you ladies drunk?” Callum asks as he enters the kitchen, causing Ava to shriek in fright since he’s right behind her.
The grin he gives her is disarming, to me at least, and she reaches out to swat at him in censure. “Jesus… why are you sneaking up on us?”
“Hard to sneak in your own house,” Callum says, leaning across the counter and checking out the wineglasses and empty bottles. He lifts the lid to the cake plate to find the confection half destroyed. He dips his finger in the frosting before bringing it to his mouth. “Yummy.”
I ignore the fluttering in my belly from watching him do that but when my eyes cut to Sophie, she’s staring at me pointedly like… you should totally reconnect with that.
Nope.
No way.
That ship has sailed.
CHAPTER 15
Callum
When I suggested to Jenna that maybe some of the girls could reach out to Juniper, I did not expect to come home and find them all drunk in my house. I damn sure didn’t think I’d walk in on a conversation wherein the women were encouraging her to rekindle things with me. I didn’t like hearing how I broke her heart and that she couldn’t trust me again, but I wasn’t displeased that didn’t seem to mean much to Ava, Sophie, Danica and Jenna. They were all pushing for a second chance.