Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
He took his time forming his answer. “He’s too passive.”
“He’s easygoing. I thought that was a good thing.”
“No,” he said quickly. “You want a man who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks, even if it conflicts with your beliefs. He seems like someone who will choose the path of silence rather than conflict because it’s not worth the effort—which means he doesn’t think he, himself, is worth the effort. I understand you’re smart and independent, so you don’t need a man the way another woman might, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve one. You deserve a man who takes care of you and everything else, even though he knows you can do it yourself. Because he wants to. He opens every door. Pulls out every chair. Makes you feel like you’re the only woman in the room even when that room is full of supermodels. I’ve seen his gaze stray…”
“I don’t care if he looks at other women—”
“You should.”
“I notice other men—”
“Then he’s not right for you,” he said simply. “I know this is a cliché, and I feel like a pussy for even saying it…”
I hesitated because I’d never heard my father say anything like that. He didn’t even curse if I was in his presence. The only time I heard him talk like a gangster was when he thought I was out of earshot and he was ripping into someone.
“But I want you to have a man who treats you the way I treat you. Loves you the way I love you. I’ve done everything I can to prove my love for you is unconditional. I’ve sacrificed so much for you, but I’ve done that happily because you’re the single most important thing to me…and I’m pretty sure you’ve never had to question that.”
His words nearly brought me to tears.
“You should never have to question him, sweetheart. When you aren’t in the room, you know his eyes aren’t where they shouldn’t be. That whenever you text him, he’ll always respond, that you’re always his top priority. You never have to wonder where he is or what he’s doing because he doesn’t lie, and he keeps his word to you. Even if he never tells you he loves you, you would know that he does. That’s what I want for you. And Ryan isn’t it.”
I digested all of that as I let my food grow cold.
“I hope I haven’t upset you too much.”
“No, I’m fine,” I said quickly. “I just don’t understand how you have such a profound opinion on relationships when I’ve never seen you be in one.”
He grabbed his fork and pushed a shrimp aside as he considered his response. “I know what I want for you, sweetheart. You’re such a smart girl—woman—and you have so much potential. You deserve the best. I know I’m biased because I’m your father, but I know a diamond when I see one.”
“Thanks, Dad…”
He took a bite of his salad.
“Dad?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Why haven’t you been in a relationship?”
“I’m too busy for that.”
“But you’ve never been in one.”
He took a bite and then another one, elbows off the table, his head down. “Why do you ask?”
“Doesn’t everyone want someone?” I asked. “To fall in love and grow old together?”
“I don’t know. Never really thought about it. I didn’t want to have a woman in my life until you were out of the house.”
“Well, I’m twenty-five now…” I’d moved out shortly after I became an adult. Got my own apartment, took a couple classes at the university, spent my time figuring out what I wanted in life.
He chuckled. “Time goes by fast, doesn’t it?”
“Why are you evading the question?”
“Nothing gets past you, huh?” He continued his smirk. “I think I got comfortable being alone, and now I don’t have an incentive to change it. And when I said I was too busy, that was the truth. To slow things down to get to know someone…” He shook his head. “That seems like too much work. And then she’d probably want to have children, and I’m not interested in having more. I already have my pride and joy.”
If she wanted to have children, that told me he would only be interested in women half his age…women my age. And it would be weird to see him with someone who could easily be one of my friends.
“How’s your gnocchi?”
“I haven’t tried it yet.”
“I know you haven’t.” He gave me another playful smile. “Enough of all this seriousness. Let’s enjoy our dinner.”
2
SCARLETT
I sat in the lounge with my laptop, a glass of wine beside me, paperwork around me. Someone stepped through the door, and without looking up, I knew who it was just by the heat of his stare.
The chair was pulled out across from me, and he took a seat.
I lifted my eyes to look at him, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his blue eyes hard as usual. He stared at me in a way no one else ever did, not even Ryan in our most heated moments.