Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
“Well, you don’t give me specifics,” she defended. “And I don’t like bullet-point versions.”
I pointed at the door, pinning her with a stare that said I would not change my mind. “I’ll come by your desk when I’m done here.”
Her lips thinning, she stood. “Fine.” The drama queen marched to the door, the image of indignance, and almost bumped into Mimi in the doorway. Sabrina volleyed her with a glare that could singe flesh and then stalked off.
Mimi blinked, seeming taken aback by the cold reception.
Uninterested in rising from my seat to greet her politely or any of that crap, I sank back into my chair, interlinked my fingers, and rested my hands over my stomach. I didn’t speak, knowing from my father that sometimes the best way to make a person get to the damn point was to simply look at them blankly.
Glancing around, she leisurely made her way to the seat Sabrina had vacated. “Nice office,” Mimi told me as she sat. “Very chic. A little girly, though.”
I almost rolled my eyes at what was intended to be a taunt. I was a girl, in case she hadn’t noticed. And I had not one issue with “girly.”
She shifted slightly in her seat. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here.”
Naturally.
“I suppose you’re also feeling far from pleased to see me.”
Accurate.
“And it’s got to be weird for you to sit across from the mirror image of the only woman who the guy you married has ever loved.”
Hmm, no, not really. I didn’t look at Mimi and see Gracie—the differences in their personalities set them apart in a major way. Especially since their personalities leaked into their behavior. It meant they had different mannerisms, smiles, postures, and gesticulations.
“But I wanted to talk to you,” she added, as if I hadn’t gathered that much by her coming here. “There are things I want to say.”
I raised a Such as? brow.
Sighing, she scratched at her scalp. “I didn’t mean what I said to Dax. I would never talk to the tabloids about him. I was just …”
“Feeling pissed and jealous because he married someone other than you,” I supplied.
A hardness slid into her eyes. “You can’t know what it’s like to want someone and hate yourself for it.”
Maybe not, but I was entirely positive that I wouldn’t have handled the situation in the same ways that she did.
She licked her lower lip in an awkward gesture. “When Gracie died, I felt like he’d be the only one who really understood how bad it hurt, so I often came to him to talk. He loved her so much. I don’t think I realized how much until after she was gone. And the more time I spent with him, the more I came to care for him.” She paused, twiddling her fingers. “And the more I grew to loathe myself.”
“Yet, you keep putting yourself in his path,” I pointed out. “Why do that? The rest of your family aren’t in contact with him. There’s no reason for you to be either.” I, personally, would have removed myself from the equation for the sake of both myself and Dax.
She shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe I’m punishing myself for feeling what I feel.”
I inwardly snorted. “You can’t feel that bad about it if you keep trying to seduce him.”
A pink flush crept onto her face. “You’ve seen me when I’m plastered. I don’t exactly have many inhibitions in that state.”
I scoffed. “If that was all it was, you’d just avoid drinking around him. But you do the opposite. Probably because you need some good ole Dutch courage to make a move, but also because you can then blame the alcohol if he turns you down.”
“No, I—”
“You might resent what you feel for Dax. You might wish you could switch it off. But what you wish most of all is that he returned your feelings.”
Her brow furrowed. “You think I have the slightest hope he’d ever love me?” She let out a derisive snort. “I’m very much aware he’ll never feel for another woman what he felt for Gracie. Losing her took something out of him. Or she took something out of him when she left. He isn’t whole without her.”
“Of course she took a piece of him with her. It was hers to take. That’s how it goes.” It didn’t mean he was broken or had some gaping hole inside him, but Mimi persisted in seeing him as if he was half a person.
“Maybe, but he’s always going to cling to his perfect little Gracie,” she clipped, bitterness dripping from every syllable. “A Gracie who wasn’t really so perfect.”
I felt my eyes narrow. “If you have something to say about her, say it. Don’t hint at it.”
Shifting in her seat, Mimi averted her gaze. “I just meant that, you know, nobody’s all good.”