Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“You know when Colin finds out,” I muttered, “he’s going to throw our friendship away. Our friendship and our business.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and I probably looked like a pouting child, but in the moment, I didn’t really care. “This fucking sucks.”
Cassidy extracted herself from my dad’s arms and crept closer to the couch. “I know it does.” Her words were quiet, but they carried enormous weight. “It’s like, you know you aren’t supposed to do it. That being with this person is going to hurt someone else, but you’re not in control anymore. There are all these reasons you shouldn’t be together, and yet—shit.” She glanced at my dad. “There’s nothing you can do to make yourself stop.”
I’d never seen her side more painfully clear. They’d confessed they’d tried not to get involved with each other for my sake, but they’d failed miserably. The heart wanted what it wanted, and they didn’t get a say in it.
“Yes,” I admitted.
My dad’s deep voice filled the space between us. “You’ve got to tell him.”
“You probably don’t want our advice,” she said, “but he’s right. He had wanted to tell you about us for months, but I wouldn’t let him. I was too fucking scared. I thought if you knew, there was no way you’d forgive us, and it’d destroy your relationship with your dad.” She sucked in a deep breath, and her expression filled with guarded hope. “But, Preston, look at how far we’ve come. It wasn’t easy, but we made it work. You made it work, and imagine how much better it would have been if we’d told you, instead of you finding out.”
“Yes, that would have been better,” I said sarcastically.
The image of them fucking on the very couch I was sitting on was unfortunately seared into my brain.
Cassidy was right about us coming a long way, though, and that it hadn’t been easy. But by comparison, Colin learning to deal with me dating his sister was a much smaller mountain to climb.
And it was one I was willing to try.
TWENTY-THREE
Preston
Sydney’s text rolled in less than an hour after she’d left my house. I stepped out of the shower, banded a towel across my waist, and picked up my phone even though I was dripping water everywhere.
Sydney: Good news. I no longer have a curfew.
Preston: Really?
Sydney: I think the idea of me going to stay with Colin really freaked them out.
No shit. It had done the same to me, because how the fuck was I going to see her without him knowing? I set the phone down and scrubbed my head with the towel, drying my hair.
Sydney: They made a lot of concessions. But bad news. I’m not allowed to sleep over at your place, and you’re not allowed over here.
“Like I’d want to go over there anyway,” I grumbled to myself.
Preston: Whatever. Hanging out at my place is better.
Sydney: Agreed.
As I finished drying off, my gaze snagged on my swim trunks that hung on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. I scrolled to my weather app and checked the forecast. It was supposed to be sunny and hot most of next week, and the restaurant was closed on Mondays, so she should be free.
Preston: Want me to pick you up on Monday? We can go swimming, so bring your bikini.
Sydney: I don’t own a bikini.
Preston: Okay. We can skinny dip.
Sydney: LOL. I’ll bring my suit. What time?
We settled on two o’clock, and she offered to make dinner after, which of course I wasn’t going to turn down. The only thing that sucked about it was I’d have to wait two days to see her again.
We were both occupied with work, though. Friday and Saturday nights were her most exhausting, so our text conversation after each of her shifts was short. I was busy on Saturday, too, with a party for a client, held in an upscale club just off Broadway. It was a surprise fortieth birthday party for his wife, and the event went so well, he’d asked to extend the room reservation and the open bar all the way until close.
It had taken some negotiating with the staff, but I’d made it happen, and I’d woken up to an email on Sunday from the client, thanking me for all the extra work. The big tip he’d Venmo-ed me was awesome, too.
It was my last project before Troy’s event on Friday night, and I was glad I could focus solely on that now. I looked at my afternoon off with Sydney as the calm before the storm. A mini vacation.
“I’ve got something for you,” I said when I picked her up.
“Of course you do.” She pretended she wasn’t excited, but I saw the glint in her eyes.
“It’s in the back seat.”
While I drove, she reached back and retrieved the present, setting the gift box wrapped in black paper on her lap. She picked at the corner, peeling up the tape, and took her time opening it like she wanted to drag out the suspense.