Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Willow,” he whispered, his voice low and controlled. I liked that about him. I liked that he always, always, always seemed to be in complete control of himself. I wondered if he knew how he controlled me, too.
“Yes?”
“Thank you for listening.”
“Thank you for sharing.”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I think you’re it for me.” His chin brushed against the top of my head as he held me close to him. “You’re my clementine.”
I looked up at him to find his stare on me. He took a few deep breaths, and I mimicked his breathing pattern as I stayed glued to his lap. “You’re my clementine, too,” I softly said.
I slowly closed my eyes as my mouth grazed his lips. We kissed gently with a kind of care I didn’t know kisses could hold.
Our foreheads fell together, and I fell in love.
I fell in love right then and there in the middle of a lake in small-town Wisconsin.
Oh.
My heart…
I didn’t know it knew how to fall in love. I thought it would always and forever hover around the concept of love, never sticking a landing. Yet there I was—completely grounded in my love for him that night.
I didn’t say the words, and neither did he.
Yet maybe right at that moment, we didn’t have to say I love you.
Maybe tonight, clementines were enough.
CHAPTER 30
Willow
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Willow News Update
Hey Old Man,
So.
I think I’m in love.
That’s all.
-Your Little Bird
PS Don’t worry. I’m okay.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Dad News Update
Little Bird,
I know that’s not easy for you, and I think you’re so brave for letting yourself fall for someone else. He better treat you right. How lucky he is to be loved by you. Bring him for Thanksgiving so I can get a read on him and make sure he’s good enough for you.
Then again, no one’s good enough for my girls, but lately, these guys have been doing all right.
Love you.
See you soon.
-Your Old Man
PS I’ll always worry. But I know you’ll be okay.
CHAPTER 31
Theo
Iwoke up the following morning with Willow in my arms. For a while, I just lay there, debating whether I even wanted to get out of bed. Whenever she was in my arms, everything seemed a little bit easier. When my feet hit the floor, though, reality set in, and I was reminded of how shitty the world around Willow and me had been. I liked our haven. I liked how things were easier when she was around.
When someone pounded on my front door, I knew I had to pull myself up from Willow’s warmth. After I stood from bed, she snuggled up against a pillow and fell into a deeper slumber. That was good, seeing how we were out on the water pretty late.
The pounding on the door didn’t stop, and the more the person slammed their fists against it, the more irritated I grew.
“What?” I hissed, annoyed as I opened the door. My anger quickly disappeared the moment I saw Jensen standing there. “Jensen. Hey, what are you do—”
“Am I your son?” he spat out, his words straightforward. They threw me for a loop more than I thought they would.
I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you talking about?”
“Last night, Dad said you slept with my mom. Did you?”
I grimaced. “Listen, what happened between your mom and—”
“Don’t give me the runaround about it, Theo. I just want to know. Is there any chance you’re my dad? Did you sleep with her around the time I was born or what?”
I couldn’t tell from his tone if he was pissed off at me or hoping that I was his father. “Your mother and I only slept together once, Jensen.”
“Now, I’m not a rocket scientist or anything, but it turns out people can get pregnant from one night of sex. And if you slept with her…”
I frowned because I saw it in his eyes now—the hope.
I shook my head. “Buddy, I don’t think I’m your dad.”
“But is there a chance? Just a slight chance…?”
“Jensen, I—”
“Please, Theo,” he begged, his eyes flooding with emotions. “Can you just take a test with me or something? I just…” He shook his head, and the tears began to fall down his cheeks. “Because if you’re my dad, everything would make a little more sense to me. If you’re my dad, I would understand why I’d only felt comfortable when I was around you. If you were my dad… I’d be happy.”
I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t know how to express that I was ninety-nine percent certain I wasn’t his father.
“I hate him,” Jensen continued. “I hate that he’s a drunk, and he’s cocky, and he doesn’t give a damn about anything I’m into. I hate that he wants me to be different from who I am. I hate that he doesn’t do anything that makes me feel like he’s my father. I hate him, Theo. But that would all be okay if it turned out that I was never supposed to love him anyway.”