Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
She nodded, eyes still wide, a sheen creeping across them. I could see the corners of her lips trembling with the effort of not curving into a smile. I’d expected the tears; the smile was a surprise.
“You’re happy?” I asked.
She shrugged, but the smile slipped free, spreading across her face like wings. “I’m getting a grandchild,” she said. Then it dimmed. “But are you happy?”
She could see that I wasn’t, so I didn’t pretend to be.
“I’m–” I turned back to the window, staring out into the darkness at the fir trees that lined the side yard. I could see the lights of our neighbor’s house glinting through the foliage. I thought of standing on the sidewalk in LA, staring up at the bottom side of Con’s terrace in the sky. A world away. Had I ever thought I could belong there? It seemed ludicrous now. I was a small-town Ohio girl. He was king of the city.
“You’re what, honey?” my mom prompted gently, and I realized I’d never answered her question.
“I’m going to be happy,” I said to the trees.
Later, she made us hot chocolate and we sat on the couch, legs pulled up beneath us, an afghan over our laps like there was a winter storm outside instead of just a sharp October chill. Telling her about the baby had been like uncorking a bottle. Now the rest of it came spilling out. She winced when she heard who the father was, but on the whole, she stayed remarkably calm.
“I’m sorry, honey,” she said when I was done. “I can tell you loved him.”
Love him, present tense. But I didn’t correct her.
Her eyes flickered to the fireplace. The flames replicated in her eyes, reminding me of the night Con came home late to the romantic dinner I’d set up hours ago. God, had it only been twenty-four hours ago? I couldn’t believe it.
“I’m so happy to have you here,” she said slowly, “but I hope you don’t feel trapped here, back in your childhood home. Because if he really is the head of a top tier Hollywood talent agency, you’re going to have all the financial support you could ever need to raise this baby while going to school.”
I’d thought of that, but the idea of it didn’t give me any comfort. In some ways, it made me sick. In the end, I’d be taking money from Con after all. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t been after it. That I loved him. He would pay me off the way he was trying to pay off Kim.
“I know,” I said dully. “I’m not worried about money. I just don’t want to raise my baby alone.”
Tears finally came to my eyes, instantly causing my mom’s to overflow. She set her hot chocolate down on the coffee table with a thunk and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing hard. I didn’t have it in me to return the hug, but I leaned heavily against her and didn’t fight the embrace. I’d been running on adrenaline for the last twenty-four hours. Now I was emotionally drained and bone tired. Tomorrow I’d get up and figure out my life. Tonight, I needed to cry.
29
CON
Landon called me when I was midair, halfway to the East Coast and the inevitable. He wanted to know if I wanted him to do anything about Kim.
“Do about her?” I echoed. “Didn’t you tell me you didn’t have anything?”
“I told you I hadn’t found anything,” he said levelly.
I got his meaning. He always had something in his back pocket. A frame, a fix up, a trap. Did I want him to put Kim in one?
I stared at the back of the seat in front of me, considering it. It would make my life a hell of a lot easier if Landon could conjure up an incriminating counter to what Kim had on me. She’d lost the benefit of the doubt with Halley a long time ago, as much as Halley loved her. She’d know that claiming I’d framed her would only alienate Halley. It might just work…but as quickly as the temptation rose, it faded. I trusted Landon with my life, but even he couldn’t guarantee that the truth would never get back to Halley. It was one thing to tell her about Lily. I could never explain blackmailing her mother.
When I told Landon not to do anything and hung up, I felt like I was severing my last connection to my old life. The one in which I was the father I’d sworn to Halley I’d be. The one I’d spent twenty-two years building.
Strangely, as much as I was dreading telling my daughter the truth, I felt like a tether had been loosened. It was going to feel like shit to see the look on my daughter’s face, but we’d come out the other side somehow. And maybe Lily would be there too.