Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
I pull the screen back and look at the time. Then I glance up at Gianna. She’s watching me, a worried look on her pretty face.
The last thing I want to do is leave—especially tonight. But I can hear the exhaustion in my mom’s voice and … I don’t know what to do.
“I’m not bothering you, am I?” Mom asks.
“No. I’m at my girlfriend’s house. Just got back from a date.”
Gianna grins.
“Mom? Can you hang on?” I ask.
“Sure, honey.”
I mute her. “I know we had plans, but—”
“Go.” She nods her head. “You gotta go. If I had a mom like yours, I’d go.”
A wild idea pops into my head, and I probably shouldn’t even bring it up, but the thought of leaving Gianna behind tonight isn’t one that I can stomach. I must try, at least.
“Would you be interested in going with me?” I ask.
Her eyes fly open.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say. “It’s about a forty-five-minute drive out of the city. We can grab a terrible drive-thru sandwich, and you can control the radio. I know it might be a little uncomfortable, so if you don’t want to, I understand. But Mom just needs someone to hang out with her for a while and I think we’d be a good distraction.”
She shifts on the counter. “If she’s sad, would it be a good idea to bring me? I mean, I don’t like to be sad in front of anyone, least of all someone I’m meeting for the first time.”
“I get that. But when it comes to my mom, if she sees her kids happy, she’s happy. And you, my little pyromaniac, are making me very happy lately.”
Her eyes twinkle as she looks into my eyes. The shield that used to be there, at least partially, is almost gone. That alone—even if she doesn’t accompany me tonight—makes me so damn happy.
“You really want me to go?” she asks curiously.
“I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t.”
She takes a deep breath, then smiles from ear to ear. “Then yes. I will go with you. But I control the radio. No takebacks.”
I pull Gianna into a hug as I unmute my mother. “Mom, I’ll be there in a bit … with my girlfriend.”
Who I think I just fell in love with.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Gianna
“We’re here,” Drake says, making a right turn onto a gravel driveway. Tall pine trees line the road, shielding the house beyond it from the noise and nosiness of traffic. “This is home.”
A two-story white house comes into view. Whiskey barrels and a swing adorn the front porch, the swing swaying in the gentle night breeze. I can imagine curling up there on lazy weekend mornings with a cup of coffee and a book. It’s so peaceful.
Drake and I talked all the way here. We ate trash burgers from a drive-thru and traded stories about our lives. He’s lived such a life full of people, places, and memories. I could listen to him share things for hours. It’s fascinating because most of it, I can’t relate to. We didn’t have family dinners or homemade chicken noodle soup when we were sick, and my dad certainly didn’t teach me to drive on backroads heading to the fishing hole when I was twelve.
But now we’re here, and the confidence I had when we left my house an hour ago must’ve fallen out of the car a few miles back. Because all I can think of now is that I’m way in over my head.
“Should I stay in the car?” I ask, a ball of nerves bouncing around in my stomach. “That would be fine with me.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“I mean, your mom might want some alone time with you. If your dad’s still upset, my presence could make it worse. Did we think about that?”
He pulls the SUV next to a white truck and parks. Then he turns to me. I wonder if he can hear my heart racing.
“You’ll be a good distraction for Mom, and there’s a chance that I get in there and Dad doesn’t know me either.” He reaches for my hand. “And I’d really like you to come with me. But it’s up to you. I want you to be comfortable.”
His eyes are bright and clear, searching mine through the darkness. He squeezes my hand before pulling back, and I can sense the tension begin to settle over him. This must be so hard … and I don’t want to add to it.
“I’ll go,” I say, sounding way more certain than I feel.
He grins. “Thank you.”
I wait for him to open my door and then step out into the cool night. Crickets chirp in the distance. An owl hoots as if it’s warning the others in the trees surrounding us that there are visitors. The sky is so dark, lit by a million stars and a bright moon, and I’ve never felt a place so serene.