Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Hi, Victor.”
“What’s going on with you?” he asks. I can’t tell if he’s pissed or if he’s worried. It could be a mixture of the two. For some reason, that just depresses me more.
“Nothing. I’m just tired.”
“So, you did have a bad day,” he responds, his voice relaxing a bit.
“Not really. I told you I’m fine. Just a little cranky I guess.”
“Gia, you don’t get cranky. I haven’t seen that from you in all the time we’ve known one another.”
“Hmm…” I murmur, not really knowing what else to say.
“I miss you, Kitten.”
His words feel as if they crack my heart open. I clear my throat. “I…I miss you, too, Victor. Are you enjoying Greece?”
“Not even a little. I want to get home to you. What are you making for dinner tonight?”
Shit. That’s a question I didn’t really want him to ask. I am not sure how to answer it. I mean, it’s not like Victor should care what I’m doing tonight. I know that logically, but for some reason, I’m still worried about telling him. God, I’m crazy.
“I haven’t had dinner yet. I’m going out to eat,” I tell him. “I’m uh… I’m not sure where I’m going yet. I guess I’ll order something wherever I finally end up.”
I guess I’ll order something, geez. God, I’m an idiot.
“You should stay in. Zane is back in town. I can have him pick a pizza up for you.”
“That’s not necessary. I’m going to meet some friends. I’ll be fine.”
“Ladies night?” he says, and I can almost hear the smile in his voice. If I close my eyes—which I’m avoiding doing right now—I could see his smile and the way his dark eyes would light up.
“That was last night,” I murmur. “Everyone was busy except Emilia, so we just hung at her house and watched movies.”
“Oh, that’s why I didn’t hear from you.”
Not really, but sure let’s go with that. “Hey, I better go or I’m going to be late. Take care, Victor.”
“Gia, wait. I’ve missed you. Give me a couple of minutes here. Who are you going out with?”
“No one you know really. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be late.”
“Gia—”
“Victor, I have to go. If I don’t get off here, I’m going to be late for my first date in forever. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have fun in Greece.”
“Date? Gia—”
“I have to go, Victor. Have a good night.”
I hang up and I’ve barely taken two steps before it begins ringing. I send it to voicemail. I get a notification and it rings again not one minute later. I roll my eyes. I send it to voicemail and then before I can think twice about it, I turn my phone off. I know he’s switching into some kind of protective brother mode. I don’t want that. I need to push forward with my plan.
I toss my cell inside my clutch purse and snap it shut. I look into the full-length mirror and frown. I have my hair combed down in waves and I’ve pulled it forward so that it covers most of the side of my face. It doesn’t hide my scar, but it lessons it’s effect. I’m wearing a soft lavender silk blouse that has long sleeves and hits me about mid-thigh. I have on my best jeans. They stretch and show off my ample curves, but not in an obvious way. I look decent. I wasn’t pretty before the attack. Since it, I’ve felt nothing but ugly. My mother refused to have plastic surgery done. She said I needed to learn from my mistakes—as if it was my fault. It’s the only thing I ever begged her for in my entire life. It’s too late now. If I tried to have anything done, it would be like telling the world I haven’t put the past behind me. It would make me feel weaker than I already am. I’m not willing to do that. Perhaps it is a stupid reason, but it is who I am.
I’m not sure how long I stand, staring at myself. Time kind of stops for me. I think I might be on the verge of a panic attack. My heart is going crazy and that only gets worse when my doorbell rings. I feel sick to my stomach, and it would probably be embarrassing to barf on my date.
I frown when I think of my date. Victor specifically asked me not to go out with Caleb and to stay away from him. I probably would have listened to him, but it was clear that holding out for Victor to think of me as a woman would never be an option. That means, he doesn’t get a say so in who I date. Besides, I made sure to check Caleb out. I’m good at internet searches, plus I have connections thanks to Emilia. A background check was easy to achieve. It sounds like a lot. I know it does, but with my history, I couldn’t help it. I don’t want to say I’m scared because I’m not.