Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
He bear hugs me and then laughs as he pats me on the back. “Thanks.”
Everyone talks in low whispers as to not disturb the sleeping baby. We laugh, reminisce, and it’s a sight to see my big brother, the man that took care of me, hell of all of us, become a father. Walking out of the hospital later that day, I have no doubt what I have to do. I just hope that Lucy doesn’t come to resent me later because there’s no way I can let her go.
19
LUCIANA
I fucked up, and I know I did.
I said I wouldn’t let him hurt me again, and I did.
But it pains me to say that he was right: I hadn’t told my mom about me and Dom either.
“Are you okay?”
We visited with her friend, and then I drove us back into Whiskey Run. We were both silent the whole way home, and it’s not until we get home and are walking in the house that Mom asks me if I’m okay.
“I’m fine, Mom. Just tired.”
I think she’s going to let me walk away, but I should have known better. “You’re sleeping with that Evans boy, aren’t you?”
I’m not going to deny it. It’s time I came clean. Hell, I don’t want another day like today where neither Dom nor I know how to act. I need to put it all out there, and whatever happens with the fallout will happen. “Yes, I’m sleeping with him.”
Instantly, she’s angry. “He broke your heart. Did you forget about that? He cheated on you once, you don’t think he’ll do it again?”
I blow out a breath. “He didn’t cheat on me, Mom.”
She just laughs. “Oh, is that what he’s telling you now? Of course he is, Luciana. He wants to get into your pants, so he’s going to tell you anything you want to hear.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Mom, what made you this way? Why are you like this?”
She rears back in surprise. I’ve spent most of my life just listening to what my mom says, and she’s not used to me questioning her. “Honey, I’ve been cheated on before. I know how you want to believe they’ll never do it again, and it’s all going to be okay, but if they do it once… they’ll do it again.”
I think back to the past, and as far as I know, my dad was my mom’s one and only love. “Did Dad—?”
I can’t even get the words out.
She doesn’t confirm or deny it. “It doesn’t matter now, Luciana. All that matters now is you guarding your heart, and I’m telling you that if he did it once, he’ll do it again.”
I sit down on the edge of the couch. It’s like a shock to the system to think that my dad wasn’t the man I think he was. I remember in middle school, someone made a joke about my dad sleeping with his assistant, but it all blew over so fast, it was forgotten. I never once questioned the love my dad had for my mom. Could I have been wrong? “Mom, did Dad cheat on you?”
She sits down across from me. “I don’t want to do this—”
I shake my head. “Mom, tell me the truth. I deserve to know.”
“Yes. In college, when we first started dating, but he convinced me he didn’t. And then his secretary… I’m not sure how many there were after her. When your dad had his heart attack, I had told him a week earlier that I was divorcing him.”
My mouth drops. “But why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugs. “You thought he hung the moon, honey. So did I at one point, and I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”
I clench my hands together in my lap. “Mom, Dom never cheated on me. He told me he did because he knew that would be the only way for me to walk away from him. He took to heart what my father said to him. He believed he didn’t deserve me, and he forced me out of his life. He loved me so much… he thought he was holding me back. Heck, today, he didn’t even hug me because he doesn’t want to cause any problems between me and you.”
Her words are not filled with as much venom, but she still says, “Honey, he’s an ex-con.”
I shrug. “Yeah, but I love him. I’ve always loved him. I’ve tried to move on, but I couldn’t.”
She clenches her eyes closed, and when she opens them, she nods at me. “Okay. If Dominic Evans is who you want to be with, I’m not going to come between you. I just want you to be happy, Lucy.”
“You deserve to be happy too, Mom. You need to know that. I’m sorry for what Dad did to you—”