Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
BIANCA
I’m going to be sick.
No matter how many times I look at this blown-up photo, it never changes. I need to stop staring at it, but I can’t, even if it makes me feel a little more nauseous every time I do.
My first worry is my father. No matter what, he can’t find out. I’d never be able to explain myself. And then there’s Tatum.
Callum notices what I’m holding and gestures for me to share it, setting down the little package he was carrying before crossing the room. “What’s the problem? Whatever it is, we’ll work it out together.”
I want more than anything to believe him, but he’s a big part of the problem, so I’m not sure how he’d help—aside from promising to never touch me again, and I already know how it goes when he tries that. It’s a waste of time that makes us both miserable, and we only end up together in the end.
“Promise you won’t get mad?”
He arches an eyebrow, his mouth screwing up in a smirk. Even now, with my vision blurred, thanks to all the crying, I can’t look at him without wondering how anybody could be so handsome. It’s unreal the way he makes a polo shirt and dress pants look like they came out of a magazine spread. Ultra-masculine and commanding. My panties would melt right off if I wasn’t feeling so crushed.
“I’ll do my best,” he mutters dryly before curling his fingers in a gesture that says hand it over already.
So, I do. And now he has the pleasure of seeing photographic evidence of the two of us kissing outside the club on Friday night, in the alley where I figured nobody could see. One of his hands cups the back of my head, and the other is pressed against my lower back.
I remember how it felt. The way my heart raced, the heat that flared hot in my core. The comfort and surrender of being in his arms.
Now I get to see what it looked like.
And so does Callum.
As I watch, his features pinch together, his face going red. It’s not embarrassment. It’s anger, the way I knew it would be. As soon as I opened the envelope and looked at what was inside, my first thought was of him and how enraged he’d be if I told him. I had to because what am I supposed to do about it on my own? There are a lot of things I can keep quiet about, and lord knows I’ve been keeping secrets all summer.
No, this is bigger than that. Potentially explosive. It could blow up in both our faces.
“Where the fuck did you get this?” He glances away from the picture just long enough to lock eyes with me before returning to it.
I can’t tell him, at least not right now, while it’s all fresh. He’d kill Lucas for this. Not that I’ve never wanted to kill him myself, but I wasn’t being literal. “Does it matter? Somebody’s following me around and taking pictures of me. Do you know what would happen if this got out? If my dad ever found out? He’d kill me.”
“I doubt he would actually kill you.” His hands are practically vibrating, and the photo along with them. “Disown you? Maybe. And it isn’t like this proves anything. We kissed. Is that a federal crime?”
“You know what I’m trying to say.”
“You’re trying to say your bulldog of a father would never let it go.”
My heart shudders at the nastiness in his voice. “What makes you say it that way?”
He lifts a shoulder. “From what you’ve told me about him.” No, that doesn’t feel true. The way he said it. It sounded like he knew what he was talking about. From experience, maybe.
“Anyway,” he continues, “you’re a grown woman. It’s your life. You can kiss or fuck whoever you want.”
“And if you saw Tatum with somebody your age, you wouldn’t care?” All I can do is shake my head. “You don’t know how it is,” I insist when he scoffs. “My mom died, and I became the center of his world. All he has is me and his work. He would go on a rampage if he found out I was with you.”
Finally, I have no choice but to say it. “And he might make life miserable for you, even if I beg him not to.”
The light in his eyes dims, and darkness takes its place. Now he gets it. What I didn’t want to say, but where my mind went immediately upon seeing the black-and-white image. If my father wanted to get revenge, he wouldn’t have to try hard to interfere in Callum’s professional and personal life.
His nostrils flare, and his jaw tightens, but he keeps a hold of himself. “He would do that?”
“Are you kidding me? In a heartbeat. I came here because, even though I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stay away from you, it was still a better option than moving back home. He means well,” I add because I feel like I have to. Otherwise, it’s like I’m being ungrateful. Disloyal.