Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
I pat Yvette’s back, and she hiccups before pulling back to meet my eyes with her watery blues. She’s so heartbreakingly beautiful. “What if I tell her to choose, and she chooses to go through with the wedding?”
I cup her face and run my thumbs along her cheeks. Why do I care so much? This woman is a means to an end, but I want her to know her worth. I don’t want her to know this kind of pain; I want her to see that she deserves to be loved by someone who would do it freely.
Like how I love Quinn and he loves me.
Tears burn my eyes as I think about how this might have been how Quinn felt when I walked away, throwing his love back in his face. How he couldn’t even focus on school because of how scared I was of not being enough for him. Yvette just wants to be loved by the only girl she’s ever loved. I get it, and I feel for her. But damn it, this girl could have the world.
“Then you walk away, and you mourn the years you gave to her. Don’t hate her, but mourn your loss. And then you move on, because someone out there will snatch you up in a second and love you more than you know how to love yourself.” Her lip wobbles, and I give her a soft smile. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Yvette’s eyes widen as I pull her up. “Where?”
“To y’all’s place. I’m sure Quinn is there.”
“But—”
“But nothing. This ends now.”
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
Quinn
Ava has never cried in front of me before.
She sobs on the couch as I lean against the buffet cabinet that holds photos of her grandma who is passing away. One kidney has already failed, and the other is on its way out. I feel for Ava; I do, but all I can think is how I feel when Emery cries. How I desperately want to brush her tears away. When she cried at the club, I had to walk away before I smothered her in my arms and begged her not to believe me when I said I didn’t love her. I know it makes me a jackass, but Ava’s tears do nothing for me.
Damn it.
Why do grandmas have to die? I just lost my grandparents, so I know Ava’s pain. And while she’s been a cunt to me these last couple months, I feel bad. Jesus, if Emery were here, she’d cut me with a look and curse the grandma.
Channel your big dick energy, I hear her say, and I blow out a breath. Fuck Granny.
“I’m sorry, Ava. That’s rough.”
“You know how much I love her,” she cries, shaking her head. “It’s just unfair.”
“It is. I know how you feel,” I tell her. I leave out the part about how she didn’t come to my grandparents’ funeral or didn’t even seem to care that I lost two people I loved in a matter of days. Someone did come, though, and then Emery made sure I knew I wasn’t marrying anyone but her.
“God, I’m so mad,” she exhales, shaking her head. “But Daddy wants to move the wedding to Sunday. He wants to have your family over tomorrow for dinner and to plan things. Will that be a problem?”
Her eyes set on me, and the challenge in them gives me pause. I stare into her eyes, and I don’t even see my friend from so long ago. I have known this girl since I was seventeen, and I wonder if she ever truly cared about me as a person—or if she always thought she’d need me one day. I fill my lungs with air and ignore my heart that’s more like a kick drum than the muscle that belongs to a certain curly-haired spitfire. “A big one.”
She draws her brows in, her eyes narrowing. “What? Why? It doesn’t matter when we do it. Let’s do it so my granny can be there.”
Tears stream down her face, and I shake my head. “I can’t, Ava.”
She stands then, her scrubs a wrinkled mess. Tears stain her top, and her eyes are wide and red-rimmed. “Quinn—”
“I won’t,” I say sharper, my tone deep and dark. “You know how much I love Emery, and how badly it fucked me up when she left.”
“I do because I was you for a whole semester!” she shrieks, more tears spilling from her eyes. “I did your classwork and took your tests! All while you cried over a girl who didn’t want you!”
“And hid the girl you loved,” I fire back, and I feel my shoulders tense.
“Don’t you dare bring Yvette and me into this!”
Her words are the gasoline I need to burn bright for my love. “I don’t want to, but you keep bringing up Emery, painting her in a bad light, and it’s not right. You don’t know her. You don’t know what happened between us, only my side. There are always two sides to a story. I didn’t know her side until recently.”