Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
There is something else, but that’s my secret to bear alone. I shake my head at her and lift my chin. “No, there’s not. You don’t know how bad I feel about this, Josie. It’s something that has plagued me every single day since I found out I was pregnant. It’s a regret I’ve swallowed time and again. I wronged Marek in a way that’s hard to forgive, and so I’m taking my lumps right now. I’m not going to let this hurt Lilly, so as long as Marek will make an effort with her, I’ll give this a shot. I’ll do my penance and take his crap. It’s the least I can do.”
Josie has no poker face whatsoever. I can tell she’s weighing my words, wondering where the truth is. Finally, she gives me an accepting smile and touches my shoulder with her hand “Okay. I hear you. But you don’t let him walk all over you. You hear me?”
The laugh that pops out is slightly hysterical, slightly amused. “Um…I’ll try, but he’s sort of a bully.”
“Just keep your focus on Lilly,” she advises. “And I’m leaving you my number and email. You reach out to me whenever you want. Just to talk or whatever. We’ll go get coffee too, okay?”
“I’d like that,” I tell her softly, overwhelmed by her kindness and what appears to be a new and unexpected friend.
The sound of the front door opening and two sets of heavy footsteps coming our way has both of us stepping apart from each other. Marek walks in followed by Reed.
His eyes go to Josie first, then to me. He gives me a tentative smile and says, “Hey, Gracen. Good to see you again.”
“Hey,” I say softly, leaning a hip against the counter.
“You ready to go, babe?” Reed asks Josie.
She seems to be startled. I’m thinking that perhaps we’d all have continued coffee and chitchat. Instead, she sets her cup down hastily. “Yeah, sure.”
Turning to me, she pulls me into a quick hug, and when she releases me, she has her phone out of her pocket. “Give me your number.”
I rattle it off to her and she taps it into her contacts. Smiling up at me, Josie says, “I’ll text you tomorrow. We’ll make a coffee date.”
“That would be awesome,” I say as my eyes cut over her shoulder to Marek, who is standing there with his arms across his chest. His face is a stony mask of indifference.
Reed waves at me and doesn’t say a word to Marek, which I find telling. Clearly those two aren’t on the best of terms right now, and I’m dying to know what was said. Josie and Reed walk out without another word, and I keep my eyes on them until they are out of sight.
I pick up my cup, take another sip of coffee, and risk a glance at Marek. His eyes are on me and they are determined. He nods his head toward Lilly and says, “It’s time.”
My heart skips a beat. I knew this was coming, but I’m not prepared. Lilly’s three and a half years old. Her grasp of complex situations is limited. I have no clue how to even begin this discussion with her, but the one thing I do know is that it’s time to be honest.
I’ll just have to trust in the fact that Lilly is a sweet, loving child who also happens to be pretty resilient. Which means she’s probably going to handle it better than I am.
Chapter 3
Marek
Once I hear my front door close signifying that Reed and his meddling ways are out of my house, I turn my gaze to Gracen. I’m pissed Reed felt the need to come here and act like my dad or something, and my natural instinct is to turn that anger toward Gracen. Let’s face it…she’s an easy target. Maybe that makes me an asshole—whatever.
But annoyingly, the words Reed just laid on me out on my front porch ring hard in my ears.
“I hope you’re not here to act as my conscience,” I’d told him as we stepped out of the house and Josie walked right in to meet Gracen.
“It’s exactly why I’m here,” Reed said calmly. “You need let that anger go, brother.”
“It’s a little hard,” I growl as I lean toward him slightly. “You know, given the fact she hid my kid from me for over three fucking years.”
“Well, figure it out,” he retorted, and spared me no further sympathy. “It’s done. Figure a way to accept it, because Lilly’s the one that’s going to get hurt.”
I jerked back from him as if he’d punched me. “I’d never hurt her.”
“If you hurt her mom, you hurt her,” Reed said in a quiet voice that made me feel about an inch tall.
I shook my head in denial. “I would never let her see how I feel about her mom.”