Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
I sighed. “I can do that. Thanks Toni.”
“No worries. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Not particularly.” I didn’t want to talk about it at all. It was humiliating, and I’d rather just forget it. But Toni was my friend and she deserved some sort of answer, so I gave her a quick rundown that started with the kitchen kiss and ended with him basically calling me a slut. “The other shoe has dropped.”
“That son of a bitch!” Toni was furious and called Dante every name in the book. “Want me to kick his ass for you? Because I totally will.”
“No,” I sighed. “It’s not all that serious. It happened, and it’s over and in the past. I’m over it, or I will be soon enough.” That’s what I told myself every morning, and soon enough, it would be the truth.
“So you’re not leaving?”
“Hell no, I’m not. I’m here for Lena and I’m not going anywhere. This is also one of the best paying gigs I’ve gotten in a while, I have to think of my financial future.” I did have to seriously think about it, because at the end of the day, I had no one but myself to really rely on. I had to be able to take care of myself. Dante might be a complete asshole, but he paid well.
“Are you sure?” Toni’s concern almost made me doubt myself.
Almost. I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yes, I’m sure. In time I’ll forget it, and one day it’ll be like a fuzzy memory of something you know happened, but can’t quite make out the details.” At least that’s what I was telling myself. “I have to believe that.”
“Well,” Toni sighed. “It sounds to me like you’re falling for him and your heart is breaking a little each time you try to convince yourself that you can forget him and just maintain a professional relationship.”
“I’m not,” I insisted, but even as I uttered the words, my heart ached at the denial and I wondered if I really was just lying to myself. “I wouldn’t do something that foolish.” Sleeping with Dante was foolish enough.
“It’s not like it’s something you can help, you know. You’re just human.”
“Doesn’t matter. Nothing is going to come of it. I’ll see you this weekend Toni, thanks again.”
One more day, I told myself as I ended the call with a sigh. The weekend couldn’t come soon enough. I would have peace and quiet, space to walk around the apartment, and best of all, a home-cooked meal. Until then, I opened the small fridge and pulled out a salad and a can of strawberry pop. It was nowhere near as good as Dotty’s salads, but it was enough.
And that was the sad story of my life.
Growing up, my parents were always too focused on my sister’s pageant career, and I told myself at the time that the love that was left for me was enough. Same thing with boyfriends, the little time they could give me was enough, their mild affection wasn’t love, but it was enough.
I’ve had enough with enough!
But tonight, grocery store salad was all I had, and it just had to be enough.
Chapter 26
Dante
“I’ll be back on Monday Lena, I promise.” Lucy crouched down in front of my daughter with a sad smile on her face and she held her pinky up. “See? I promise.”
Lena sighed heavily and flung herself at Lucy, wrapping her little arms right around her, she squeezed tight. “Promise?”
Lucy smiled and nodded as she hugged Lena tightly. “Yeah, I promise. I’ll see you on Monday, and I have a surprise for you. Have a good weekend.” Lucy stood and picked up her overnight bag with one hand and ruffled Lena’s hair with the other. She pulled open the door and walked through it without a glance back at me.
I couldn’t deny how much that stung even if I deserved it. “All right Lena, come on.”
“I wanna go with Lucy, Daddy.”
“I know sweetheart, but Lucy can’t work every day of the week, can she?”
“No.” She shook her head and sniffled. “That’s not fair.”
“Exactly.” I scooped her up in my arms with a smile. “But like she said, she’ll be back on Monday. For the next few days, it’s just me and you kiddo.”
Lena grinned and nodded. “What are we gonna do Daddy?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? I’d relied so heavily—okay, too heavily—on Lucy to plan outings and events over the past few weeks that I didn’t even know where to begin. “We’ll find something, I just know it. How about we go out for dinner tonight, just you and me?”
Lena bounced excitedly and pushed out of my arms before she raced up the stairs to pick out something to wear. I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. At least my little girl still wanted to spend time with me.