Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Because I want you to see that I care more about you and your book than how it can help my company. And shit, I want you to be happy. I want to see the look on your face when copies are flying off the shelves and people are reading your story. I want you to be rolling in cash and not have to share it with some big stuffy publisher like us. I want you to be happy, Charli.”
“Then kiss me,” she says, biting her lip. “But this time, don’t let me even joke about it being pretend. This time I want it to be real. All of it.”
My lips are on hers before I have time to think.
We kiss and the city melts away. The meager whooping and clapping from the small crowd of homeless folks behind us barely registers for me. None of it matters because she’s kissing me and she’s giving me another chance.
That’s all that matters, because I know I’m not going to mess it up this time. I’ll do everything in my power to make this work, because I know what it feels like to think she’s gone, and I’m never letting Charli go again.
30
EPILOGUE - CHARLI
My parents have all the old Christmas decorations up. It brings me straight back to my childhood. There’s the dangling Santa head with the long, sparkly pointed beard hanging from the dresser drawer. They have the tree up with my dad’s patented over-stuffed ornament style, which leaves almost no branch unadorned and makes the whole tree look like it weighs a metric ton. Mom has her Christmas village up above the bookshelves and Troy has helped set up the train, which grows every year. It used to just go beneath the tree, but now it snakes around the couch and weaves in front of the TV like a mobile tripping hazard. I’m frankly surprised it hasn’t killed Meemaw yet.
Soft holiday music plays from speakers in the living room and I should be cozy, happy, and feeling warm. Instead I’m gnawing on my nails and worrying.
Three days ago, I “put Jameson out of his misery” as Dani has been saying, and forgave him. Two days ago, he started coaching me on the steps needed to self publish my book. One day ago, I asked him if he would be interested in finally meeting my family, who have been more or less in the dark about him with the exception of Dani and Maddie.
He seemed happy to come, but he also doesn’t know exactly what he’s walking into, which is why I’m nervous.
Troy emerges from the kitchen with a chunk of chicken in one hand and a pickle in the other. He takes a bite of chicken, chases it with pickle, and sets down both to chug some beer. “Is he always late?”
“He’s not late,” I say calmly. “I told him seven. He still has thirty minutes before he’s late.”
“If you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re fifteen minutes late,” Troy grumbles.
“That doesn’t even make sense. What if you’re fourteen minutes early?” I ask. Are you still fifteen minutes late?”
He scrunches his face up and stares at me, obviously not understanding my point.
“I always prefer a man who comes late to a man who comes early,” Meemaw declares a little too loudly. She rests her palms on the dining table and looks around the room with a shit-eating grin to make sure we all understand the pun was definitely intended.
Nobody takes her bait, so she sighs. “Like when he orgasms,” she says. “You get it? I prefer when they orgasm late instead of–”
“Pretty sure we got it, Meemaw,” Dani says.
“Did you warn him about our family?” Maddie asks. She seems like she put a little extra effort into getting herself ready for dinner tonight. She’s got on her favorite grungy hoodie and her hair is brushed.
“Why would she need to warn him?” Troy asks.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Maddie says, rolling her eyes. “Maybe because she has a psycho overprotective older brother, a… lovely grandma, a sister who tried to prank his ass, and, well, dad.”
“What did I do?” Dad asks, throwing up a hand in outrage as he sets down a roll of paper towels in the middle of the table.
Maddie shrugs, but she’s grinning. “You’re kind of weird. I bet Charli is worried you’re going to try to recruit her hot boyfriend into one of your DnD campaigns, or something.”
Dad holds up a finger like he’s about to argue, then pauses, mouth snapping shut as his head tilts. “Do you think he’d be game?” he asks me.
“Um, I don’t know,” I say. “Feel free to ask.”
My mom comes out of the kitchen and plants her hands on the back of a chair. “I’m just excited to meet the man we’ve heard so little about. Really, Charli, it’s like you’ve been holding national secrets from us over there. We have to find out there was a big dramatic fling and a big dramatic breakup and a big dramatic apology after it’s all said and done? Part of the reason I had children was to enjoy the drama. You really can’t be doing this kind of thing to me. And your father.”