Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
"Michael Keller may have slept with my mother," I say carefully, "But that doesn't make him my father. It takes more than DNA to do that. A man who abandons the woman he got pregnant because votes and power are more important than actual people isn't a father I want to know. I don't want to know a man who told that woman to abort their child and then walked away. And I absolutely don't want to know a man who happily tossed a scared, lonely little girl into foster care after her mother was murdered. That man is no father of mine. He never has been, and he never will be." I pause. "So people can stop asking me about him now because I don't know him. I've never met him. And everything I needed to know about him, I learned a long time ago."
"Jesus," Montaque mutters.
"He isn't the one who shaped my life," I say quietly. "And he shouldn't be the one who defines it when he never had any part of it. My mother is the one who raised me. If people want to compare me to her, I'll happily accept that comparison. She was an amazing mother. She loved me fiercely. She worked her ass off to support me. And she did it on her own because the man who lied to her about being single dropped her the second he found out she was pregnant. I'm proud to be her daughter." I swallow hard, my throat working convulsively. "And I miss her every single day."
Logan squeezes my hand. "Do you have anything else to say, baby?"
"Just one more thing," I murmur, glancing at Montaque. "People aren't stories, Mr. Montaque. We're people. The guys on this team may be famous, but they're people too. They have families and feelings. They bleed. And they deserve privacy just like I did when I was a kid. Treating them like dollar signs instead of human beings is shitty. If you want respect around here, quit doing it. It isn't earning you any points with anyone."
Montaque clicks off his recorder with a curse. "I'm just doing my job, Ms. Cloud."
"No, you aren't. It stopped being a job when you intentionally started digging, trying to expose things that aren't anyone's business just to get ahead. That isn't a job. That's you being a dick for your own personal gain." I arch a brow at him. "Believe me, I know all about men like that. I just told you about him. Do you really want to be like him?"
Montaque's face turns red. He splutters, searching for a defense, but we both know he doesn't have one. Just like we both know I'm right. He isn't digging into Logan's sister because it's the job. He's digging because he's a dick just like my father.
It's up to him to choose a different path. I doubt he will. Men like him rarely do. But the option is there.
"Montaque!" Coach Lariat growls from behind him. "I already told you to get the fuck out of here. Do not piss me off."
Montaque holds up his hands, shooting another glance in my direction before he mutters a curse and turns, striding across the parking lot.
"On the bus, Moreno!" Coach shouts. "We're leaving!"
"On my way!" Logan calls back to him before dragging me into his arms. His lips come down on mine in a hard kiss. "You're fucking incredible, you know that? Christ, I'm proud of you right now."
"I'm pretty proud of me too," I murmur against his lips.
He smiles, tucking strands of hair behind my ears. "You should be, baby. I hope he prints every goddamn word."
Surprisingly…so do I.
Maybe it won't make a difference, and people will still bring my father up. They'll still treat me like I did something wrong because he's rich and has the power. I don't know. But I also don't really care anymore, either. For once, I said what I should have said a long time ago. It's not my cross to bear anymore. It's his. What he does with it is his business.
I'm not shackled to his bullshit anymore.
I'm shackling myself to a gorgeous goalie, one who looks at me like I'm the center of his world. One who gives me power to be…me.
That's more than enough for me.
One Month Later
"Give me back my phone," I growl at Logan, trying to tug his arm down to reach it. It doesn't even budge. Naturally.
Why is he so ridiculously strong?
Better question, why do I always let him talk me into going out with him and the team after they win a game? It never works out in my favor.
"Nope." He smirks at me. "Not until you kiss me."
"I am not kissing you in a bar full of people, Logan."
"The bar isn't full, baby," he says through laughter. "It's just the team."