Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
I nearly choke on a mouthful of green beans. “What for?”
“Wanting to murder you and trying to get you arrested.” She takes a long swallow of her beer. “And calling you a pedophile. That wasn’t fair.”
My stomach curdles at the reminder. I love Emma, but the romance between us was new and certainly long after she turned eighteen.
“For the record, she’s been avoiding me too.”
“She has?” I meet her teary eyes with a frown. “Why?”
She shrugs and hides her wobbling lip with another sip of beer. “Because I was out of line. I know this. I’ve been trying to apologize to her.”
“Where’s she staying then?”
Pain burns in my chest. This whole time I thought she was with her mom. But, if she isn’t with her or anyone in this complex, where is she? A flare of worry surges through me. The urge to text her and demand she come home is strong.
“With the Blakelys. I’ve gone by there a few times to make sure she’s okay. Didn’t see her, but Quinn was outside one day and assured me she’s fine.”
“Could he be lying?” I growl, no longer interested in eating, tossing the half-eaten tub of food on the cushion beside me. “We should go over there. What if she’s staying there because she feels like she has nowhere else to go? What if they’re not being good to her?”
“I said she’s fine,” Amara bites out. “And why do you suddenly care? You’ve been hiding away since I caught you two.”
I sear her with a fiery glare. “I’m doing it because she deserves to be happy. With her mother. I can’t come between the two of you.”
Her lips thin out and she looks at her beer. “You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“Suffer. Willingly. For others. Never once are you selfish, and the one time you do something that makes you happy, you immediately give up when someone pushes back on it.”
Anger, hot and explosive, surges through my veins. “You sound disgusted by that. But you’re also disgusted by me being with her. Which is it, Amara?”
“Both. Neither. I don’t know.” She sets the beer down with a loud clank. “I was sleeping with someone else, Reid.”
It takes several moments for my mind to catch up. “What?”
“All those nights cleaning? I wasn’t.” She darts her eyes away from mine. “I was having an affair. But Emma was so happy living with you. I didn’t want to take that from her.”
I shake my head, bile creeping up in my throat. “You cheated on me? With who?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she says quickly. “You don’t know him. I met him through work. One thing led to another, and we slept together.”
“I don’t need all the details,” I grumble.
She sucks in a sharp breath and nods. “The point is, I had no right to be so upset with you. We were broken up, officially, and I’d betrayed our relationship anyway.” She swallows hard and flashes me a sad smile. “It’s just… She’s my little girl. She always will be. Seeing the two of you like that…”
I get it.
It must’ve been traumatic. Not to mention, I was choking her daughter while we fucked. Amara’s reaction wasn’t that out of line.
“It was difficult,” she continues. “Momma bear came out ready to claw out anyone who hurt her little cub. I was blinded by the instinctual need to protect her with everything in me.”
“I understand that.”
“But I was wrong.” She sobs pitifully. “Toward the both of you. You deserve to be happy. So does Emma. It still freaks me out that you two found happiness with each other, but it’s not my job to control that. As much as it pains me, my girl is grown. She can make her own decisions.”
My heart hammers inside my ribcage. The urge to end this conversation and go after Emma is overwhelming. I need to apologize and beg for mercy. Amara is right. I’m never selfish and it’s ruining my life. Just once I want to take what I really want, never letting go.
You let go once, asshole.
“Just promise me,” Amara says, voice wobbling, “you’ll take care of her and love her like she deserves. Support her dreams and aspirations, whatever those may be. I’m going to step back and let my daughter have the life she wants. She deserves someone who will fight for her, not roll over and let her win every time. You deserve that too.”
Amara pats me on the head and then leaves without another word. I don’t wait for the door to close before racing for the stairs to find a pair of shoes.
I have to go get her and bring her home.
My girl.
My sweet, sexy, sassy Emma.
The Blakely house is massive and fancy as fuck. It sucks that I’ll never be able to provide a home like this for Emma. But, despite my insecurities, I shut off the truck and stalk over to their front door. After a few rapid-fire knocks, a man answers the door.