Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
When I couldn’t take the waiting, I decided to take a shower. I needed to relax. I let the warm water rain down on me, still unsure about how much I was going to reveal to Tate. More than anything, I wanted to understand why and how this had happened. Why had he given me a fake name? Was anything real about our time together? One thing I knew for certain: he’d had no idea I was his son’s friend at the resort. Like me, Tate would never have knowingly betrayed Taylor.
My tears mixed with the water as the enormity of this night sank in. Perhaps I could get all the emotion out now, rather than in front of Tate.
After my shower, I dressed in what I planned to wear to bed: a T-shirt and soft cotton shorts. There was no reason to try to impress Tate anymore. My wet hair fell down my back, making a damp spot on my shirt.
I’d just sat back down on the bed when a knock on the door scared the bejeezus out of me.
Chapter 20
* * *
TATE
Nervous as fuck didn’t even begin to describe how I felt as I stood outside Blair’s hotel room.
Not only was I petrified of someone catching me with her, I had no idea what I could say that would properly sum up the tornado of emotions inside me. I’d made it through the reception by the skin of my teeth. Leah suspected something was up with me, but I had no idea how to explain it. I’d hardly believe it myself if I wasn’t living it. From the moment I’d spotted Blair in that receiving line, my head and my body had been operating on two separate planes.
I looked around again to make sure the hallway was empty.
Then I knocked. I swear I could hear my heart beating.
When Blair opened, I nearly fell back from the sheer impact of seeing her. She had wet hair and wore a T-shirt, like not a moment had passed since our amazing time together at the resort four years ago.
“Come in.” She waved, quickly ushering me past the door.
The moment it closed behind us, my nerves settled a notch, because at least no one could see us together now. We were finally alone. That was half the battle tonight.
I took a moment to just look at her as she took a seat on the bed. Earlier I’d thought she looked a bit older than I remembered, but the fresh-faced woman in front of me looked exactly like the Blair I’d known and loved four years ago. So instantly taken by her, I almost forgot what I’d come here for. But when she cleared her throat, I snapped out of it.
“I’m not sure where to begin,” I told her, feeling frozen in place, just inside her hotel room.
“I know.” She looked down at her feet.
“I’ve imagined reuniting with you so many ways, but none of them was like this.”
Blair looked up at me. “How did this happen, Tate?” Her voice shook. “Or should I say Theodore…”
My stomach sank. Does she think I did this on purpose?
Her gaze returned to the floor again.
“Blair, look at me.” I waited until her eyes met mine. “I was not deceiving you. I had no idea you knew my son. Tate is my name. When I was in the military, all of my buddies called me Tate, and it stuck after I left. I prefer it to Theodore, which I’ve never liked. My mother can attest to that. Taylor doesn’t know me as Tate because my family calls me Teddy. But Tate is the name I use for myself. It’s what I share when I meet someone new.”
She shook her head. “I’ve talked to Taylor about you as Tate, and he never flinched.”
My eyes widened. “You’ve spoken to Taylor about me?”
She nodded.
Blood drained from my face. Not sure why that seemed so shocking. If they were close and she’d had no idea who I was, that made sense.
“He never seemed suspicious,” she said.
I exhaled. “That doesn’t surprise me. He called me Theodore out of spite for several years…” I swallowed. “But now he calls me Dad.” I got a little choked up, thinking about how far Taylor and I had come, only to have our relationship potentially destroyed now. But maybe it doesn’t have to be.
As if she’d read my mind, Blair shook her head. “He can’t know about this.”
Relief washed over me. “I agree. I don’t plan to tell him, if you don’t. There’s no reason he has to know.”
She hugged her arms, seeming conflicted, which worried me. Could I trust her with this? She had to understand that nothing good could come from him knowing about us.
“I want to make something clear, Blair.”
“Okay…”
“Not telling Taylor has nothing to do with feeling ashamed of our time together. It doesn’t change what we experienced. It’s only because I don’t know if he can handle it. Taylor’s very fragile. He’s—”