Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
My cheeks heat at his statement. I need to get out of here. “We can’t do this again. I…lose myself around you.”
He groans and turns me to face him. Holding my shoulders, he says, “Have dinner with me.”
I shrug. “Okay.”
“Sunday night?”
That’s five nights away. Six including today. Can I wait that long?
I don’t have a choice. He’s going to be with his daughter for the next four days.
“Okay,” I say.
“I want to kiss you.”
I step back, out of his hold. “I have to go.”
I head to the exit and he grabs my hand and presses his lips to my fingers. I smile and pull my hand away. “Have a good evening, Mr. Black.”
His eyes darken, and I quickly check the peephole before slipping out.
I need to get some distance from this man.
I need a self-imposed ban from the third floor.
I need never to step foot in Room 325 again.
TWENTY-ONE
Deacon
Wednesday night feels like the weekend to me. I get to go home to my daughter. I get to do dad stuff—chat about our day over dinner, read bedtime stories, sign homework books. It’s a thousand times better than any business deal I could ever do.
I put my key in the lock and open the door. Willow is sitting cross-legged in the hallway, waiting for me.
“Hey, princess,” I say, expecting her to jump up and into my arms. That’s what she normally does when I come in.
But she doesn’t. She uncrosses her legs and stands up. “Hi, Daddy,” she says.
“Oh dear, why so glum?”
She gazes up at me and says, “What does glum mean, Daddy?”
“Sad,” I reply, scooping her up and kicking the door shut.
“Mommy’s getting married,” she says.
My heart tumbles to the floor like discarded rubbish. Gabby did say she was going to tell Willow about her engagement to Ray this week.
“She told me,” I say, carrying Willow into the kitchen.
She puts her palm against my cheek. “Are you sad, Daddy?”
I smile and mouth hi at Willow’s nanny, Lucia, who is busy preparing Willow’s dinner.
I slide Willow onto the bench and sit down beside her. Within five seconds, Lucia has a glass of water in front of each of us.
“Thank you,” Willow and I both say at the same time.
“I’m not sad about your mommy getting married,” I say. “Are you sad?”
She scrunches up her face. “I want you to be my daddy. I don’t want Ray to be my daddy.”
It’s like a thousand tiny fists are squeezing my heart. I pull her into a hug.
I need to speak to Gabby. I have to grasp the nettle when it comes to Gabby’s request to end our nesting arrangement. None of this is going away. Gabby has been messaging me about it every other day. It’s like she’s scheduled the texts in advance. She doesn’t care if I respond or not. Most of the time I don’t bother, but when I do, I just try to buy time. I tell her that I’ll think about it or that I’m busy at the moment. But she’s relentless. I can tell she’s not going to give up on this. And maybe this could be a good thing for Willow. The way Aurora described her safety as constricting has made me think about things a little bit differently. More than anything, I want Willow to be happy. I need to be able to guide Willow through this change, not stand in the way of something that might be good for her.
Willow needs to know what change Gabby’s marriage will bring. She deserves that.
“I promise you, Willow, that I’m still going to be your daddy. Nothing’s going to change that.” I want to reassure her that Gabby getting married won’t change anything, but that’s a lie. It’s going to change everything about Willow’s life, right down to where she wakes up in the morning and which toys she gets to play with. But seeing Willow like this, makes me think about what Aurora said. About how safe isn’t always the best option. Even though the idea of Willow being a part of a happy family makes me seethe with jealousy, maybe that would be good for her. Like Aurora said, maybe this change is good.
“But Mommy’s getting married. Ray will be my daddy.”
“No one’s ever going to be your daddy except me. Ray will be an extra person in your family. Mommy getting married means you get more family. No one leaves.”
She looks up at me, her wide brown eyes just like her mother’s. “Will I still get to see you the same amount?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say. Over my dead body will Gabby change that. I will fight to the death. “I promise you.”
Lucia puts Willow’s dinner in front of her, and Willow picks up her fork. She blinks…long blinks, like she’s trying to let everything settle in her brain.