Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Tell him no,” Julian agreed.
“West?”
West shrugged. “We can’t make them. Dad told me he was going to be in LA when I got back, but I still haven’t decided how much contact I want. He does have a tendency to weasel his way back in if we give him half a chance.”
I didn’t even know why I was defending the man. Why I was acting like I wanted them to give him a chance. I’d just always been that person. Maybe today was the day to let it go.
“Yeah. All right. I’ll tell him,” I finally relented.
My siblings nodded, clapping me on the back and thanking me for being the one to deal with him. It was never easy. Today wasn’t going to be easy either.
I stepped out of the house, leaving my siblings to enjoy the rest of the party. I had to call Dad back. This was going to be fun.
“Hey there, handsome!”
I looked up and found Eve striding down the drive toward me.
My smile reignited. “Hey! I thought you weren’t coming until later.”
“Couple canceled. They decided they’d rather spend time at the lake with friends than look at houses. Can’t blame them. I’d rather spend the time with my boyfriend.”
She vaulted into my arms, and I swung her around, planting kisses all over her face while she laughed. Then, I got a real kiss, long and languid. She melted into me, and I let the rest of the day slip away.
“I missed you.”
“Of course you did. I’m awesome.” She winked at me. “What are you doing out here?”
I ran a hand down my face. “My dad.”
“What’s going on?”
I explained the situation with my dad to her. She listened patiently while I detailed all the many reactions from my siblings…and the guilt I still felt about it all.
“He doesn’t even deserve it,” I blurted out. “I don’t know why I feel this way.”
“Look, I’m not exactly the best person to give parental advice. My mom disappeared, and my dad is an asshole, but I still deal with him because Bailey is there. Every time you talk about your dad, you make it seem like you owe him something for giving you half of your DNA. But he has done nothing but disappoint you time and time again. Have you considered that your siblings are right?”
“So many times. Yet I’m still the one talking to him. The one making excuses for him. I don’t know how to let it go.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think you’re the most like him?”
“Normally, I would say Jordan,” I said with a shrug. “But even he’s over it.”
“But Jordan had him all the time. You were given scraps. It’s like you’re still begging for them.”
I winced at the words. At the truth of them. No one had ever cut me bare so easily.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “Was that too blunt? I sometimes do that…I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay,” I told her, calming her own fears easily. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. You see me as well as I see you after all. I want my dad’s approval. I want him to want me the way he wanted his other life. I don’t know how not to want that.”
“You were innocent in this. He should have never made you feel like that.”
“Yeah. Parents, huh?”
“Fucking tell me about it.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess I should call him.”
“Do it later,” she said, threading our fingers together. “You don’t have to run to him right away. Do it on your terms. He can wait. He made you wait long enough.”
I smiled down at this force of nature I called my girlfriend. Why hadn’t I been able to say that? He’d made me wait long enough. It was as simple as that.
“Plus, I have on a white bikini,” she said with a grin. “Want to see it?”
I choked out a, “Yes,” and she laughed, stripping out of her T-shirt and pulling me toward the party.
Tomorrow. I could think about it all tomorrow. Be more like my siblings.
Because right now, I wanted to be present with my girlfriend.
25
Eve
I blinked into the soft morning light, momentarily forgetting where I was. I jolted upright in the giant king-size bed, my heart racing a mile a minute. Then, the previous day washed over me.
Right.
I’d stayed the night with Whitt.
Whitt, who was not currently in the bed. I looked around his immaculately clean and perfectly decorated room and didn’t see a trace of the man. As my eyes adjusted to the space, I realized that I could hear the shower running.
I released a breath with relief. I didn’t know what I’d thought he’d do. It wasn’t like he was going to run out on me, sleeping in his bed, but it was the first time that I’d stayed here despite our many adventures between the sheets. I’d always thought it was too intimate…too relationshippy to stay the night. I hadn’t snuck out or anything, but I’d still left before the morning.