Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“You should’ve known she’d have Dad on her side before agreeing to walk into this lion’s den,” Cole tells Chance. “Amateur mistake on your part.”
Kyle adds, amused. “Dad wins. Flawless Victory.”
“Thank you, Dad.” Like a queen, Kayla tilts her chin deferentially her father’s way before turning icy eyes on her brother. “To be clear, I don’t need your permission, nor approval to do, be, or live however the fuck I want.”
“Kayla,” Chance says, softer. The only thing saving him is that I can tell this argument is coming from a good place. He’s worried about the sister he loves very much. He’s wrong, completely and totally so, but I don’t think he’s being malicious. In a way, I think he’s trying to protect her, not because she’s fragile but because she’s important to their family. To him. “We’ve all had our issues.” He cuts his eyes quickly to Charles before returning them to Kayla, an unspoken message in the pointed glance. “But this is not the way to address any residual Daddy issues you might have. Therapy is. Maybe Samantha could—”
His wife’s jaw falls open in horror, but it’s his mother who scolds him first. “Chance Michael Harrington!” Miranda snaps, immediately moving to Charles’s side in a show of unity. “Apologize to your father right now.”
But the patriarch of the family doesn’t need insincere apologies and he takes Miranda’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I haven’t been perfect, and if I could go back in time—”
As Charles is speaking, Kayla holds up a staying hand. “Dad, if I may?” To everyone’s surprise, he quiets for her. With a cold glare locked on Chance, Kayla clips out, “Of everyone in this family, I probably have the least amount of Daddy issues.” The accusation is clear and every brother shifts uncomfortably. I don’t know the finer details of their histories, but Kayla’s obviously hit a particularly sensitive nerve in all of them. “But even if I did have issues, it’s not your place to say how I should or shouldn’t address them. We are happy. That’s what matters. And no matter how many times you imply this relationship is something it’s not, it will never be about how many people are sleeping in our beds. We are more than the sum total you’re trying to make us out to be.”
Kyle whispers to Dani out of the side of his mouth, “Has he met Kayla? I’m surprised it only takes two guys to be enough for her. She’s a lot. Like a lot.”
Dani reaches forward, putting her finger over his mouth to hush him, but I hear her whisper in his ear. “And you think I’m not a lot? Maybe I need another guy too.”
Kyle’s eyes flash fire. “Fuck that. I’m enough for you. I don’t know what those guys are doing wrong because there’s no reason for it to take two of ‘em.” He shoots a shit-eating grin our way, obviously teasing, but his quick back and forth breaks the tension. I think that’s exactly what he was trying to do as tempers flare between the two siblings, both skilled enough with words to masterfully undercut the other.
Kayla might be right about her younger brother. He’s smarter than he puts on.
Chance rolls his eyes. At Kyle or Kayla, I’m not sure. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was discounting… this.” He waves a hand, gesturing toward all three of us.
“You did,” Kayla argues. “You pride yourself on opening the minds of the young men in your group. Maybe you should open your own a bit? I have found something special—acceptance, support, partners who push and challenge me while loving me exactly as I am. I feel safe with them, not only physically, but emotionally, and that is rare and shouldn’t be dismissed because it doesn’t come in the normative-convenient, preconceived image you have of what love looks like.”
It’s more elegant than any way I would have put it, but I don’t care. My heart is growing in my chest… no, it’s repairing. All those little scars and bits of damage that have been there since Eliza made me feel like I wasn’t enough are disappearing as Kayla speaks about us. She’s trying to convince her brother, but she’s convincing me too. Not that we’re in love, I already knew that, but that we are enough. Together, we’re exactly enough for each other.
The muscle in Chance’s jaw appears and disappears as he clenches it, angry words still desperately wanting to spill off his tongue. But as he formulates his next argument, Kayla goes in for the kill.
“Love isn’t perfect. You can’t plan it out like a to-do list or put it in a perfectly designed box. Believe me, I tried. Not only did it not work, but it failed spectacularly. But this…” She glances from Maddox to me. “It just happens, like magic. And your inability to appreciate that doesn’t mean I should change my course of action when I do appreciate it. Greatly.”