Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry it took me so long to figure things out.” I swallowed a breath so I could put everything I had into it. “And I really appreciate how patient you and Mom have been. I haven’t done a good job of showing it, but I’m grateful for all the chances you’ve given me.”
He was stunned and pleased to hear it, but unease moved through his expression. “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?”
“Nope, no ‘but.’ I’m just saying thanks.”
He peered at me, perhaps wondering what had happened to his daughter and who this imposter was, before his cautious eyes seemed to sharpen. “What did you want to ask?”
“You need to give Noah his job back.”
“Ah, there it is,” he said. “Did he put you up to this?”
I shook my head. “No, we haven’t talked since he ended things.” I steeled my voice, keeping it controlled. “My relationship with him had nothing to do with his work, so don’t punish him for being with me. I’m the one who lied.”
“Charlotte,” he started.
But I wasn’t finished. “Neither of us wanted this, but then you volunteered me to work for him, and it was—”
“You’re blaming me?”
“No.” I made a face. “Well, maybe a little. What I’m trying to say is Noah really tried not to get involved with me. He warned me about how important his job is to him. He even said his identity is, like, tied up in his career, so I know right now he’s lost. He’s hurting.”
Confusion splashed across my father’s face. “That may be true, but he hurt you, too. So I’m not sure I understand why you care how he’s feeling, or why you would want him to get his job back.”
I gave a sad shrug. “Because I love him, even when he doesn’t love me back. Plus, he’s helped me so much with my business, I owe him this.” I folded my fingers together and dropped my hands into my lap. “Also, Noah getting his job back wasn’t the thing I wanted to ask you about.”
“What?”
“What I want to ask is, why do you care that I was with him? Why was that so wrong?”
He stiffened. “You both work at Warbler, and that makes me uncomfortable.”
I’d never realized before that my father was not good at lying. The way his gaze ran from mine confirmed my suspicion. This wasn’t his real reason.
“That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? I’m there twice a week after hours, and barely anyone knows I work there.” I lifted my chin. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to be an issue soon anyway.”
He frowned. “Why’s that?”
“Because tomorrow I’m paying off the last of my debt.”
He made a face, and I could see the thoughts in his eyes. He was scrambling to come up with another way to get me to stay. Not necessarily because he wanted to control me, but because he was convinced it was too soon. That I’d fail if I tried to do things on my own.
“You and I both know,” I said, “you don’t really need me cleaning Warbler. And certainly not twice a week.”
He didn’t want to admit it. “You do such a good job, though.”
“Thanks. I mean that, too, because if you hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have started my channel. But I need to know the real reason you said I had to end things with Noah.”
We both knew the reason, but he didn’t want to put it into words. He dragged it out so long, I worried he wasn’t going to say anything.
But finally he let out a heavy breath. “He’s too old for you.”
“Ah, there it is.” I couldn’t help using the same phrase he’d given me. “I know it makes you uncomfortable, and I’m sorry for that, but I’m not your little girl anymore. I’ll be twenty-four in a few weeks, and I’m too old for you to be telling me who I’m allowed to date.”
“A guy like that,” he hesitated, “he’s not with you for love. It’ll run its course, and things will end exactly like they did with Zach.”
My voice shook, because the comparison filled me with anger. “Noah is nothing like Zach.”
“All right, fine.” Worry creased his expression. “But he’ll hurt you, Charlotte.”
The laugh I gave was humorless. “Well, thank God you were there to protect me and stop that from happening.” I took a moment to get hold of myself. “Look, I don’t want to fight. Maybe it’s true he wasn’t ever going to fall in love with me, but I’ll never know, because he didn’t really get the chance.” I shot him a hard look. “You had a hand in that.”
He considered my statement for a long, tense moment. “I didn’t handle it well, no, and I’m . . . sorry for that.”