Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“That love isn’t real, and men can only give so much. In the end, I have to take care of myself.”
My heart cracked.
I wanted to tell her she was wrong.
I wanted to tell her that I would take care of her. That I would make her feel good, make her feel wanted, make her feel… loved.
But I couldn’t.
Because here I was, serving as yet another layer of proof to back up her theory.
I held Chloe’s gaze, and I swore she was waiting for me to say something, too. I willed my mouth to open.
But I couldn’t lie to her.
Apparently, it was much easier to lie to myself.
“I’m going to make some food,” she said, tearing her gaze from me. “Want any?”
“No, thank you. I’ll heat up the leftovers Arushi left later.”
Chloe nodded, and I tried to ignore the disappointment I saw in her, the disappointment I felt in my chest.
“Well, then,” she said, spinning and throwing me a seemingly unbothered smile. “See you around, coach.”
She saluted with a wink.
And then she was gone.
Cruel, Isn’t It?
Chloe
“Absolutely not.”
I chuckled, trying and failing to pull Chef Patel from where she was rooted in place on Sunday. Just like Will had promised, we were at Disney World, soaking up his full day off and staying the night in Orlando. We’d make the drive back home tomorrow morning before his late practice.
Our VIP tour guide, Juan, was busying Will and Ava with some fun facts about the Mad Tea Party — the ride Chef was refusing to partake in.
“You’re being such a Will right now,” I said. “A real turkey!”
“I will hold your things,” she offered, grabbing the backpack I had full of snacks, water, sunscreen, and other items I thought we might need. “And will be waiting right here when you get done.”
“Come on, Arushi,” I begged. “You already sat out on Space Mountain and the Barnstormer.”
“And you did just fine on your own, didn’t you?” She pursed her lips. “I will be right here.”
“Fine,” I said with a heavy sigh. “But I’m going to make you ride It’s a Small World as punishment.”
“That damn song will be stuck in my head all day.”
“Sure you don’t want to do the teacups instead?”
She considered for a moment, then shook her head and lifted her chin. “I’ll survive Small World. But I’m not letting you twirl me around and make me vomit on this thing — especially after that hideous pretzel and cheese we just had and called lunch.”
“Mmm, I want another pretzel!” Ava said, popping up beside me with her eyes wide with glee. She’d been like that all morning, from the moment we’d stepped foot inside the park. It was almost impossible for me to remember her as she was before now, when I first started as her nanny. Gone was the child who barely smiled, barely laughed. It was as if once she realized how nice it felt to do both, she decided she never wanted to stop.
Today, her brown, wild hair was tamed into two long pigtails on either side of her head. The only way we’d been able to convince her to leave the hockey uniform at home was to promise to buy her a brand-new shirt once we got here. She proudly wore a pin on that pink Tinkerbell shirt that said First Visit!
“Maybe later,” I offered. “Or should we save room for some Mickey Mouse ice cream?”
“Oh! Ice cream!” Ava clapped and bounced, and then Will was joining us, his brows set low over his eyes.
How this man could scowl at the happiest place on Earth was beyond me — but he’d managed to all day.
We’d wrangled him into a t-shirt that Chef Patel and I had made that said “Disney Dad” on it — though he’d refused us once we’d tried to complete the look with a pair of Mickey ears. The shirt was almost too small for him, but only in the way that made the muscles of his arms impossible to ignore. I knew he had to be tired after a late game night, but perhaps the win had given him energy. Or perhaps he was just so excited to bring Ava here that he’d make the energy, if he had to.
Even through his grumpiness all morning, it had been the sweetest thing to watch him hold Ava’s hand as Juan led us safely around the park. He did his best to ignore the other guests as we passed them, especially when they pulled out their phones to take photos of him. A few had asked him for autographs and selfies, much to the dismay of Juan, who was doing all he could with security in tow to give us an unbothered experience.
But Will had handled it all in stride, smiling for the pictures and scribbling autographs before turning his attention right back to his daughter.