Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
What would my parents think of Rory Casteel, whose family owned a quaint-but-in-need-of-repairs bar on the docks in a town named after mud that was likely to suck you under if you weren’t careful? They’d immediately disapprove. They wouldn’t consider her the “right” woman to stand by my side as I moved into the next chapter of my career and my life. My father loved my mother, but he’d married her because she was a society girl, like Blakely Wingate, who only enhanced his upward social mobility. He had come from a background much more humble than the one lived in Mud Gulch, Maine. His goals for me were that I take the ground he’d gained and climb even higher.
Those were some of the airs I’d spoken of to Rory the first night we’d met, the ones that could be so damn tiresome. But I’d embraced those airs. I’d gone all in and now they were part of my life, whether I liked it or not.
It’s why I’d felt so free in Mud Gulch, standing in that kitchen with Rory cooking and just being me. Out from under all the pressure and expectations. My parents wouldn’t even recognize that version of me.
Not that there could ever be a mention of Mud Gulch anyway since Rory had lied to my parents and many others about who she really was.
And so had I.
“Headache?” My father’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see him strolling in the room. “Take a Tylenol, because there’s no time for a headache or anything else that might distract you for the briefest moment.” He gave me a smile though as he set a folder down before me and took a seat in one of the two chairs sitting in front of my desk.
Distract me? Too late. I was already helplessly distracted. “I know. I’m fine. I’ve got everything under control.”
He gave me a considering look, likely thinking about the rumors that were surely circulating about my public shows of distraction. But my dad didn’t give much credence to gossip. He looked at results. And despite my mind being elsewhere, my work hadn’t suffered. “I have no doubt. You always do. I know things have been intense lately. There’s a lot of money on the line, and a whole team of people depending on you. But, Gage, son, there’s no one more capable of turning this venture into a success than you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I mustered a smile that he didn’t seem to notice was forced.
He gestured to the folder. “Those are the contractor schedules for the London property. Keep them handy in case you need to reference them. The schedule is tight. We can’t afford to let anything slip through the cracks.” My dad leaned forward. “But I have good news. The London team working under you is flying in for our Fourth of July party. You’ll get the chance to meet them in a more relaxed setting. That way you’ll all be familiar, and you can really hit the ground running when you arrive in Westminster.”
I nodded, my eyes drifting away. The Fourth of July party. The Metropolitan Club threw a big shindig every year, complete with a professionally run fireworks show. I’d thought about inviting Rory, but then I’d hesitated because Blakely and her parents were going to be there like they were every year. I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to take Blakely up on her proposal. Frankly, my heart wasn’t in it, and I lacked the will to try. But it’d be awkward nonetheless. Nothing was clear-cut and feelings were likely to get hurt if I didn’t keep the different parts of my life separate.
And yet, it was me feeling like someone held my heart in a vise.
My father started to rise. “Dad? Can I ask you a question?”
He lowered himself back in the chair. “Of course.”
I picked up a pen and tapped it on the edge of the desk. “Was there ever a time…years ago, that you and Mom…weren’t close?”
“Weren’t close?”
“You know, that you might have…drifted apart.”
He stared at me for several moments. “Sure, Gage. Your mother and I have gone through rough patches as most couples do. I worked a lot when you and Lexi were young.” He paused, looking momentarily troubled. “And I was working through personal issues so I wasn’t always as present as I should have been. I think sometimes your mother felt lonely and overwhelmed, even though she had help.”
Did you stray? Did you have an affair with a woman and then send her away when you found out she was pregnant? Or did she leave you none the wiser? But I couldn’t bring myself to ask my father that. The question felt blasphemous on my tongue. Or maybe it was that I wasn’t prepared to hear the answer, to have to look him in the eye after learning something like that.