Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
"Well, you weren't at work when you decided not to inform me that you'd be going out with Sidney Hawkes last night," she sniffs. "I mean, honestly. Henrietta. You don't tell your own mother, who is breaking her neck trying to find you a wedding date, that you already have a date? Shameful."
"It slipped my mind," I lie. "Besides, I told you that I didn't need a date."
"Yes, well, you could have told me that you didn't need one because you already had one. I can't have you showing up to your brother's wedding alone. What would people think?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe that I'm single?"
"You don't have to be snippy."
I pinch the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath. "I'm not trying to be snippy. I just don't understand the problem."
"Of course you don't," she sighs. "You never do, Henrietta. Well, it doesn't matter now. I've already had to call Cory and inform him that you aren't available after all. He was devastated, the poor boy."
"The poor boy?" I pull the phone away from my face, gaping at it. "Mom, he's a total creep!"
"Oh, please, Henrietta. Not this again. He's just traditional. There's nothing wrong with that, you know. Some women want to be taken care of by a good, strong man. Honestly, it wouldn't hurt for you to try a little harder. I can make an appointment with my surgeon, I'm sure Sidney would appreciate an upgrade."
An upgrade? Seriously? Am I a damn computer?
"Sidney appreciates me just fine like I am. And Cory is neither of those things," I mutter, my tone dark. "And women are allowed to do whatever they want to do." I don't care if a woman wants to stay home and live a traditional life or stay home and be a trophy like my mom. I don't care if she wants to climb mountains, rescue blind goats, or fight crime, either. It's her life, not mine. But it should be her choice, not something someone decided for her or forced her into or gave her no way out of.
Everyone has an opinion about how women should be women, like there's a right or wrong way to do it. From where I'm standing, it seems impossible, regardless of how you do it. So…why not just let us decide what works best for us as individuals and back off? We aren't a collective. We don't share a brain, desires, dreams, or needs. So why do so many people treat us like we are?
My mother is one of them. She has her own ideas of what it means to be a woman, and every other woman on the planet is a failure if they don't do it her way. Since she's decided I'm not beautiful enough to be a trophy, she's convinced I need a man like Cory, as if forcing me to stay home and cater to a creep like him will somehow magically transform me into someone more palatable.
No, thanks. I would, literally, rather die alone.
"I'm not you, Mom. I'm Hattie. Why can't that be enough?" I ask, tired all the way to my bones.
"I don't want to have this ridiculous argument again, Henrietta," she says, right on cue. "You're too naïve to even know who you are or how the world works. I just called to confirm if you and Sidney are attending your brother's wedding together."
"Yes," I sigh into the phone. "He's my date."
"You should bring him over for dinner before then," she says.
"I'll do that," I lie. "But I have to go. Someone needs help."
"Talk later, dea—"
I hang up before she finishes, dropping my phone to the counter. "Pigs will literally grow wings and fly to space before I take Sidney to dinner over there," I growl.
"Over where?"
I jump, spinning to the left to see Sidney standing on the far side of the library counter, watching me intently with his arms crossed over a faded Timberwolves tee that clings to his body. His hair is damp, like he showered recently.
"My mother's," I groan, massaging my temples. "She's seen the photos."
"She called you?"
"Unfortunately." I drop my hands, sighing. "She wants me to bring you for dinner before the wedding."
"Ah."
"That will not be happening."
"You heard," he says, his expression grim.
"Heard? Heard what?"
He sighs heavily, his jaw pulsing, and then shakes his head. "Come here." He holds a hand out to me.
"Right now?" I dart a glance around the library, but it's mostly empty this afternoon. Wednesdays are the one day a week we don't schedule activities. It's always the slowest day of the week.
"Right now," Sidney says, his lips twitching.
I hurry around the counter to him, not even hesitating to burrow into his arms when he opens them for me. His scent wraps around me, loosening knots all over my body. God, he feels like safety in the wildest way.