Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Her eyes widened. “Someone to meet. Who?”
“Can I introduce you at lunch?”
My mom pursed her lips. “I don’t like surprises, Chase. You know I’ve had enough for a lifetime.”
Yeah, she had.
All the girls my dad had cheated on her with. Not to mention the new baby that he’d had with his mistress. While I found Silas to be the cutest one-year-old around—he was my half-brother after all—every other aspect of his existence disgusted me. The fact that Dayna had been an employee at Sinclair Realty when she was knocked up. That the board hadn’t fired my father, but just made me the face of the company while he worked in the background. How my father hadn’t legitimized his relationship with Dayna by marrying the poor girl, who was younger than me.
Maybe I owed my mother not to surprise her with the fact that I was dating a Wright. I didn’t think she would be as upset as, say, my father, but I never really knew.
“I’ve started seeing someone,” I admitted slowly.
Her smile lit up. “Have you? Is it serious?”
“It is,” I told her, unable to keep the joy out of my voice. “She’s sort of moved in.”
“Already, Chase? That’s moving fast for you. You dated Kennedy for three years before she moved in with you.”
Ah, Kennedy. That name I hadn’t thought about in a long time. My Houston girlfriend, who had wanted nothing more than to live in my house and be my wife and tell all of her friends that we had hit new milestones. That felt like a lifetime ago.
“It’s not fast exactly, but it does feel right.”
“If you say so, dear. Moving in before I’ve even met the girl doesn’t sound like you.”
“This is a special circumstance. We’ve sort of been seeing each other for three years, but we’ve just made it official.”
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me? Did you say three years?”
“I only say that to show you that this isn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. I love her, and I want you to meet her.”
“And who is this girl?”
I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
“Harley Wright.”
A shriek sounded from behind my mother, who went pale and wide-eyed.
I blinked. “Is there someone there with you?”
My mom turned her iPad from where she stood in her living room to my sister, who had been carefully off-screen in the kitchen. My stomach turned to ice.
“Ashleigh,” I muttered.
Fuck.
I hadn’t wanted to tell my sister yet.
She was…a gossip at best. A meddling, opinionated saboteur at worst. And she sided with our dad as much as she sided with Mom. I didn’t trust her not to tell him, and I wanted to do that on my own time.
“You’re dating Harley Wright?” Ashleigh asked, scurrying toward the camera and practically yanking it out of Mom’s hands.
“I am,” I said very slowly, guarded.
“For three years?” she gasped.
“On and off.”
“Oh. My. God, this is too much. How did you keep this from me for so long?”
“On purpose,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Chase! She’s a Wright.”
“I’m aware.”
“I dated a Wright.”
“I am also aware of that,” I told her.
And she had royally fucked that up. She’d been with Julian for two years before he found out the depths of her subterfuge. I didn’t know how he’d made it that long.
“Well, that’s great,” Mom interjected. She wiggled her fingers at Ashleigh to get back in the camera. “Does your father know?”
“He…does not. Not yet,” I said carefully. “I want to be the one to tell him.”
“Of course, dear. We wouldn’t dream of ruining that moment for you.”
Ashleigh bit her lip like she could barely contain shouting it to the entire world.
“Right, Ashleigh?” Mom said.
She huffed. “Fine. Fine. I won’t mention it to Dad.”
“Or anyone who will tell your father,” Mom added. “Chase deserves a chance to have his father yell at him all alone the first time.”
I could barely suppress the laughter that bubbled up at me at those words. “Thanks, I think.”
“Dad’s going to flip,” Ashleigh said. “You know he is. It’s a Wright. After what happened at Jensen’s mayoral campaign…”
I shrugged. “That sounds like a him problem.”
“Your sister is right, of course. He will not be thrilled, but if you’re happy, that is all that matters. Do you know when you’re going to tell him? And can I be there to see his face?”
“Mom!” Ashleigh gushed.
This time, I did laugh. Oh, my mom hated him so much.
“It was a joke, darling,” Mom said with laughter in her eyes. “Don’t take everything so seriously.”
“The humor looks good on you.”
Mom fluffed her hair again. “Everything looks good on me.” She winked at me through the camera. “Now, how is her family taking it?”
I blew out a heavy breath. “Well, they hate me. Her brothers especially.”
My black eye had healed, for which I was glad. I wasn’t sure I wanted my mom to know that Jordan had punched me. But Ashleigh was staring intently through the camera, as if she could see through the healed skin to what had happened.