Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“I didn’t know she was seeing anybody. Blindsided…”
“You think a hot woman like that stays single for long? No, Dex. Men will line up around the block for an opportunity to be with her. You just expected her to sit there and pout in her misery?”
“No—”
“Let me give you some enlightenment. A woman worth waiting for doesn’t wait for anybody.”
“I understand that—”
“She did the right thing by moving on, and Zach is super hot—”
“Jesus, can I talk?”
Her eyes narrowed viciously before she opened her mouth and took a deliberate bite of her pizza.
“She has every right to move on with somebody else. That’s not my issue. I just… I’m not sure if it would be right to say anything to her when she’s clearly moved on, or is trying to. It feels like a dick move. I already did it once with Dom, and I’m not sure if I can do it again. I had my chance with her, and I blew it…”
She continued to eat her pizza, chewing in silence.
I waited for my sister to say something, replaying that moment of Sicily and Zach in my head. He was handsome, charming, rich…that was all I knew about him. I could tell Sicily was uncomfortable by the entire thing too, but I knew she wasn’t in agony the way I was.
It was like a dagger in each of my lungs, taking away my ability to draw a single breath ever again.
Daisy grabbed another slice.
“Are you going to say anything?”
“Oh, now you want me to talk?” She took another bite, taking her time chewing just to be obnoxious. “You only ended things a couple weeks ago, so it’s not like she’s serious with this guy. I honestly think she’d want to know that you turned down that stupid cunt—”
“Daisy, don’t talk about her like that.” Even if Catherine deserved it, it didn’t sit right with me. I would always be angry with her for what she’d done, but I didn’t think she deserved to be spoken about in that way. “I’m serious.”
She rolled her eyes. “As I was saying…I think Sicily would want to know. This guy is probably just a rebound. The way she feels about you…that’s real. You’re the Louis Vuitton purse, and everything else is a knock-off.”
“Did you just compare me to a purse?”
“It’s just an analogy, alright? Talk to her.” She took another bite of her pizza. “In other news, we’re going to do that dinner on Saturday in a few weeks.”
“What dinner?”
She gave me an irritated look. “Where I introduce Mason to Mom and Dad.”
Fuck, that was still happening? “Mason agreed?”
“Yes.”
“So, what did Dad say?”
“I told Mom and let her do the dirty work.”
That was probably smart.
“It’ll be the five of us. And we’re going to Dad’s favorite place, so he’ll have something to look forward to.”
“Alright, let’s hope for the best.”
It was awkward the next day.
More awkward than the day after I broke things off.
More awkward than pretty much any other moment of my life.
I was at the research facility, and when I arrived, my breakfast was there on time. She was also there, having my schedule and other information to share with me. The weather had improved, so she wore dresses with short sleeves and heels instead of boots, and her skin was as beautiful as I remembered.
She sat in the armchair facing my desk, making notes on her tablet. “Morning.” She purposely didn’t look at me, like that would make it less tense for us to be in the same room together.
“Morning.” I sat down behind my desk and grabbed my coffee. I didn’t touch my food because I’d permanently lost my appetite after yesterday.
She rattled off things that required my attention, going over the call list, virtual follow-up appointments that I had, and a couple other things. She read off her screen, continuing to avoid eye contact.
When I thought about the two of them together, it made my throat and stomach line with acid. It didn’t matter who the guy was. This would have been my reaction, regardless. I used to tell her everything, and now I kept my thoughts and feelings to myself…and that hurt too.
She looked up when I didn’t say anything. “Dex?”
I met her look.
She met mine.
It lasted a while, awkward and painful, like we were both thinking the same thing.
I powered through it. “I saw Catherine last week.”
She inhaled a sharp breath at my announcement, the awkwardness gone because it was replaced by shock. “Oh my god…” She let the tablet fall flat onto her thighs because her fingertips lost their grip.
“She apologized to me…said she made a mistake…and wanted me back.”
Her eyes slowly dropped, as if visualizing the scenario. “That was what you wanted to talk about yesterday…”
“Yeah.”
She gave a slight nod but kept her gaze down. “Dex, it’s your life. Do what you want. Do whatever makes you happy. But I think you deserve someone who wouldn’t take a year to realize her mistake, and preferably, someone who wouldn’t make that mistake in the first place—”