Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Alice is walking toward a vending machine, and she stops when she sees me, her eyes round with surprise.
I stand up and walk over to her, smiling sheepishly. She’s wearing the necklace, which seems like a good sign.
“Surprise,” I say, doing weak-ass jazz hands.
She looks around the waiting area, then up and down the hallway. “What’s happening? Please tell me there aren’t any cameras here.”
“No, it’s just me. I, uh...left the show.” I clear my throat. “But most importantly, how’s your dad?”
“He’s stable. The doctors think he had a seizure.” Her expression softens. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I should’ve asked. I j--”
She cuts me off, throwing herself against me in a hug.
“You’re here,” she says tearfully.
I close my eyes and hold her, relieved. “I meant it when I said I want to be where you are. I know it’s soon and you may not believe this, but...I’m pretty sure I love you.”
She stands back and cups my face, tears wetting her cheeks. “I think...I might love you, too.”
I just look at her for a couple of seconds, so euphoric I want to pick her up and spin her around the room, announcing to the world that the most incredible woman I’ve ever known loves me.
Not here, though. Not now, with her dad hospitalized. The most important thing right now is that I support her.
“I’m just gonna sit here and you can come out for hugs whenever,” I say.
She smiles and shakes her head. “That might get boring.”
“No, I’m good.”
Her expression turns serious. “How long is Alex letting you be gone?”
I clear my throat, hoping her feelings don’t change when I tell her the truth. “No, I left the show permanently. Alex pitched a fit, but he finally said he’d let me go if I let them film me explaining why.”
Alice’s hand flies up to cover her mouth. “You did?”
“I said there’s only one woman I want, but I didn’t say it’s you.”
Her shoulders relax slightly. “Farrah’s going to know. She has to know. Why isn’t she blowing up my phone?”
I glance away. “She definitely knows. Because I told her.”
Holding my breath, I let the news sink in. Alice looks surprisingly calm about it.
“How did that go?”
I hum a note of unamused laughter. “She thought she had it figured out that I’m bi and I was getting with Misty and Dom.”
Alice stutters out a gasp of surprise. “She what?”
I shrug. “I mean...if I was into that, I wouldn’t be ashamed. Then I called her a narcissist and said some other stuff, and I left.”
Alice’s jaw drops. “Oh my God, Dalton. Did she explode into ten thousand pieces? Is she splattered all over the beach house walls right now?”
“She’s fine. Probably pissed off, but fine.” I put my hands on her shoulders, holding her gaze. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to tell her.”
Alice puts a hand on my forearm and squeezes it gently. “It’s okay. She would’ve found out anyway.”
“I’ve got you on money, okay? I don’t want you worrying about your dad’s care. I’ve got more than enough to take care of everything.”
She nods slowly. “I’ve been thinking about it. Will’s getting paid now, and I have some money in the bank. I invested a little that I can cash out if I need it, and I can get another job. It’ll be okay. I knew when I made the decision to come here that I might not be working for Farrah anymore.”
“Don’t go back to her. You deserve to have a life.”
She runs a fingertip over the pendant of her necklace, a smile playing on her lips. “Now that I know what it’s like to have a life, I think I like it.”
I run my thumb over her jawline. “Good. Because we’re just getting started, babe.”
She takes my hand, arching her brows. “Are you ready to meet my parents?”
“Are you sure?”
She nods. “It’s been a whirlwind, but if you’re in, I’m in.”
I give her hand a light squeeze. “I’m all in. With everything I’ve got.”
nineteen
Alice
Three Weeks Later
“That. Better. Be. A. Margarita.”
I hold up my dad’s bag of liquid nutrition, laughing lightly. “How’d you know? I’m even salting the rim of your G-tube. But not until later, when Mom is here to help me with it.”
He’s been home for almost ten days now, his condition more fragile than before. The doctors had to put a gastrostomy tube in his stomach so he can be fed a liquid diet that gives him the nutrients he needs and helps protect his deteriorating kidneys.
Once his bag is stored in the small refrigerator in his room, I tuck his covers around him, his eyes already closing. I kiss his forehead, double-checking that the large call button on the side of the hospital bed in his bedroom is within his reach.
“Call if you need anything, Dad. You better sleep while you can. Dalton has another game picked out to watch tonight.”