Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Please come get me.
That was all her text had said, and I had a sinking as I pulled up in front of her mother’s house and saw her sitting on the steps of the porch. She rose immediately, and as she neared, I saw her red, tear-streaked face. Those weren’t tears of joy.
She opened the passenger door, slid in, and gripped the seatbelt with trembling fingers. I didn’t say anything at first. I just reached over and took her free hand, threading my fingers through hers.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. Her eyes flicked to mine, and for a second, I thought she might break down into wild sobs, which I wouldn't know how to help her through. But she only nodded. I squeezed her hand gently, wishing I could pull her into a hug.
“She just—she wouldn’t listen.” Tori’s voice was so quiet I could barely hear, but the pain in it made my heart hurt. “She denied how it was before, even though that’s how it’s ended up every single time. I just… can you please take me home?” Her soft voice was tight with emotion.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “Of course.” I drove the streets in the reverse order of the route we’d taken to get here. The silence in the car felt almost tangible. Every so often, I glanced over, but she seemed lost in her thoughts.
So I drove and did what she’d asked me to. I took her home. Except, how bad must it feel to her that “home” was the house she’d lived in for less than a month instead of the childhood home she’d just left?
As we headed north toward Atlanta, I couldn’t get something out of my head. This was Tori’s mother—and we were driving away from her. I hadn’t wanted my mom to marry Kyle’s dad, but I’d been there for her.
A wedding, even an ill-advised one, was a big deal in a family. And Tori wouldn’t be there.
Shit. This wasn’t my business. Tori had made it quite clear that she was a grown woman who could make her own choices. And okay, maybe—somehow—I could stand to let her do that in regard to the men in her life. But this was her mother.
And even if I’d fucked up last night, I was still her friend. “Tori,” I began gently, keeping my eyes on the road, “Do you think that maybe you should go to the wedding tomorrow?” Her head snapped toward me, and I rushed to clarify. “I know you don’t approve, but this is your mom, and she might need your support. Even if she’s making the wrong decision. Especially if she’s making the wrong decision.”
I braced for anger, but her voice was so soft I could barely hear it over the car engine. “How can you say that?”
“I’m just worried that if you walk away, she’ll feel like she can’t reach out if things get really bad with Doug. I know it’s not what you want, but maybe if you’re there, then later when it gets bad again, she’ll remember you’re still on her side.” I forced myself to leave it at that, letting the quiet settle over us as we continued up the highway.
Tori was silent for at least a mile before she sighed. “I just can’t. It would be like standing by and watching while she walked into a burning building.”
I couldn’t say I blamed her for her decision, but I had one more idea. “Could you maybe make it through the ceremony with me by your side?”
“You’d be there, too?”
“If you want me to.”
“I really don’t want to.”
“Okay, it was just a thought.” I took her hand and squeezed. She’d made her decision, and—wait. “Do you mean you’re not going to? Or just that you don’t want to?”
She looked the opposite way, out the window, but she kept her fingers laced through mine. “I really, really, really don’t want to go tomorrow. But… maybe you’re right. Maybe I should.”
“Look, we’re not that far outside of Atlanta. Let’s get lunch somewhere and then we’ll do whatever you want. Head north or get a hotel and stay until tomorrow.”
“Can you do that?” she asked. “I know you didn’t expect to be gone overnight.”
“Neither did you.”
She was silent for another mile or two, and then she said my least favorite word. “Kyle.”
Since she wasn’t looking at me, I made a face but kept my voice neutral. “What about him?”
“His paper. I don’t know how much he got done today, but we need to work on it tonight. Otherwise it won’t be done in time.”
My stepbrother had a remarkable knack for frustrating people from afar. “I’ll get Jayden to help him.”
“Will he mind?”
“If you mean Jayden, no, of course not. If you mean Kyle, well, who knows? But he’s sure as hell more likely to accept help from Jayden than from me.”