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)
“Fuck.” I blew out a long breath. “All right. Well, yeah, I mean, if I tell my mother, you should be able to tell yours, as long as you can trust her not to say anything.”
“I trust her with my life.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Same with my mother.”
She laughed a little. “Let me know if your mother has any brilliant ideas about how we can handle this.”
“Right? I’m desperate for that.”
“You won’t tell the woman you’re seeing?” she asked.
Ugh. I grimaced. “About that…”
“What?”
“I ended things with Leah earlier today.”
“You did?”
“I needed to free up my head emotionally, and she needed more than I could give her right now. I need to be alone for a while. That’s what’s best.”
Blair went quiet on the line. I could only imagine what she was thinking.
“Are you still there?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I just…wasn’t expecting that.”
“Does it make you nervous or something?”
“No, of course not. Why would it make me nervous?”
“I don’t know. But you shouldn’t worry. My decision to break up with Leah was independent of our situation. I don’t intend to cross the line with you, Blair. That would only complicate things more.”
“I wasn’t implying that you broke up with her because of me. I just said I wasn’t expecting it,” she said defensively.
“I’m sorry.” I rubbed my temples. “I don’t even know what I’m fucking saying. Today was just…a lot.”
Her tone lightened. “You found out you’re indeed the father, like on some old-school Maury Povich episode, lied to your son’s face, and broke up with your girlfriend in one day. What could possibly be the problem?”
I snorted. “You’re too young to remember The Maury Povich Show.”
“I’ve seen clips on social media about the DNA-test episodes.”
“Unlike me, who’s old enough to have actually watched that show.”
“You’re old, yeah.” She chuckled. “But you look even hotter than you did when we met. Not sure how that’s possible.”
I shook my head and sank deeper into the couch. “I’ve been thinking the same about you.”
“Oh, now you’re a liar?”
My eyes widened. Does she not realize? “Why would I lie about that?”
“When you showed up at my house, I was wearing a dirty T-shirt and had my hair in a messy bun… How could I be hotter than you remember?”
I loved the way she’d looked that day. Her hair was up, showcasing her long, beautiful neck. I remember wishing I could take a bite out of it. She also hadn’t been wearing a bra. It had been hard not to stare at her, especially during Nicholas’s bathtime. I’d spent way too many minutes since then thinking about how damn gorgeous she was.
“You look the same, but even more beautiful,” I told her. “That’s coming from someone who’s looked at the photos of you from the resort often over the past four years.”
“You did?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Yep. Even though I thought you’d chosen never to contact me again, I still tortured myself with those photos.” I hesitated. Fuck it. “And that letter you left me… That was…”
“When did you read it?”
“Minutes after you left the resort.”
“Minutes? That soon?”
“I was a fucking wreck when you left. I needed something. The letter was all I had.”
“I can’t remember everything I wrote. I just poured out what I was feeling in that moment.”
“Everything you said, I felt the same.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, though, does it?” she said.
For a few seconds, you could hear a pin drop.
“I don’t know how this is gonna play out, Blair. But I’m gonna be here for that boy. That’s my focus now.” I paused. “Speaking of which, I think I found a place for us to meet.”
“Where?”
“In Western Mass. That’s where you grew up, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a couple hours’ drive from here, but the house has a swing set in the back for him.”
“He’ll love that.”
“Will you mind driving that distance?”
“Nicholas is good in the car, so it should be fine. The farther the better, I think.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I can lease the place for a three-month minimum.”
“That works.”
“Would you be able to meet there this Saturday?” I asked, eager to see them.
Them.
Deep down, I knew this wasn’t just about Nicholas.
“Actually, this Saturday I can’t. My cousin’s thirtieth birthday party is at my aunt’s house on Saturday. Nicholas will be coming with me, since there’ll be kids his age there.”
That was a bummer, but I didn’t have much choice.
“How about the following weekend?” she asked.
“That works for me,” I said, trying not to let my anxiousness show. I’d have cleared my calendar if I’d had any commitments.
I had to remind myself I was invading a life she’d done a damn good job of building on her own. I wanted to be an asset, not a hindrance or an additional responsibility she had to deal with.
“Okay, weekend after next, then,” she said.
“Has Nicholas asked about me since the aquarium?” I braced myself.