Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“Working against me, maybe.”
“So the daughter couldn’t get past it?”
“That’s the hardest part for me to swallow. Caitlin, the stepdaughter, was pretty upset at first. In the end, though, she said she was okay with it. She wants Alex to be happy. But Alex is too afraid to risk her relationship with Caitlin. She doesn’t really believe Caitlin would be okay with it.”
“Do you think maybe Alex is hiding behind her daughter, using her as an excuse?”
“Because she’s afraid of a serious relationship with someone younger?”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess it could be that, too.”
I tilted my head. “What did you mean?”
“I meant maybe she used it as an excuse so she wouldn’t hurt you.”
My face fell. “Oh.”
Lacey put her hand over her heart. “I’m so sorry. I just keep sticking my foot in my mouth, don’t I? I shouldn’t have suggested that. I don’t know what the heck I’m saying.”
But the seed had been planted, and my brain was already nurturing it, watching it grow. How the hell had I never considered that maybe Alex didn’t feel the same way about me that I did about her? I’d spent hours thinking about what I could’ve done differently, how I could’ve convinced her to take a chance with me. Never once did it occur to me that she just…didn’t love me. But she hadn’t said the words back when I’d told her how I felt.
I swallowed and cleared my throat. “Alright, your turn.”
Lacey chewed on her lip. “I need another shot.”
“Coming right up.”
If the second shot relaxed me, allowed me to appreciate the view, the third loosened me a little too much—emotions bubbled up as I listened to Lacey’s story.
“So, yeah…” She sighed. “We’d been dating for three years when I got pregnant. Henry proposed the night we went for our first sonogram appointment and heard the heartbeat. A few days later, I miscarried. After that, I threw myself into planning the wedding—trying to focus on the happy things in life. But Henry changed. At first I thought he was sad about losing the baby, so I gave him some space. As time went on, though, it became apparent that Henry wasn’t into the wedding. One day I asked him, ‘Are you sure you even want to go through with this?’ I mean, we only got engaged when we did because I was pregnant. Still, I never expected him to say he didn’t want to marry me. He said he loved me, but not the way a man should love a woman.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lacey shrugged. “Deep down, I know it’s a good thing. I would rather have a year of heartache than a lifetime of not being my spouse’s person. My parents didn’t have a happy marriage. I want more than that. But it still stings that he couldn’t love me the way I loved him. It makes me feel like I’m not enough, you know?”
“I’m really sorry.”
She forced a smile. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
Holden walked over. He slung an arm around my shoulder and offered his signature cocky grin. “Hi. I’m better looking and musically gifted, but my friend Brayden here is rich as hell. Did he mention that yet?”
Lacey arched a brow. “He actually didn’t.”
“He’s also philanthropic as fuck. Runs a giant foundation and puts smiles on the faces of sick kids.”
Lacey turned to me. “Is that true?”
I shrugged. “The foundation isn’t that big. We do what we can.”
Holden slapped my chest. “I knew it. He’s been sitting here telling you his tale of woe for the last twenty minutes instead of talking himself up, like he should be.”
Lacey smiled. “I think we’ve been going woe for woe.”
“Well, let me finish the hard sell, and then I’ll be out of your way.” Holden mussed my hair. “My buddy Brayden here has some pretty great qualities. He’s loyal—been friends with this idiot since kindergarten. Smart—I can’t even spell the shit he’s gotten patents on. And he owns a piece of real estate in Manhattan.” Holden leaned in and flashed a grin. “I also own a piece of the apartment building, so that’s two selling points in one—you get me as the sidekick for this handsome hunk of man.”
I gave my idiot friend a shove. “I think you can put a sock in it now, jackass. Peddle that junk somewhere else.”
“Speaking of junk—did I mention he’s hung like a horse? Now, I haven’t seen it since seventh grade, but once I pulled his swim trunks down at our buddy Ryan’s pool party, and his thing put mine to shame. I’m sure it’s only grown since then.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “It was actually me who pulled down his swim trunks, and I started wearing my underwear in the boys’ locker room right after that. But thanks for the effort, buddy.”
Holden winked. “My wife is a pretty lucky lady.”