Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Well, you’re wrong. I asked her to stay, and she turned me down.”
He looked at me. “You asked her to stay?”
“Yes,” I snapped.
“And she said no?” Xander’s surprise was evident.
“Exactly. So you can stop being so smug—you were wrong.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that since I’m starting my own business, I’d need a nanny during the school year.”
Xander dropped his head. “Jesus. Of course you did.”
“Look, she said she was looking for a reason to stay, I gave her one, it wasn’t good enough.” I took another sip of the watery garbage in my cup and winced. “Fuck. This is so bad.”
“Should have told her to get you something better.”
“I don’t want to ask her for anything, okay? She rejected me.”
“She didn’t reject you. She rejected your stupid job offer.”
“Fine with me,” I said bitterly.
“No, it isn’t. You’re just too stubborn to say the thing you should say to change her mind.” He shook his head. “As usual, you’re standing in your own way of being happy. So what’s the excuse this time?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I got up and went over to the trash can to throw away my coffee. When I returned to my seat, he started up again.
“I’m not saying it’s easy. I have no idea what it’s like to be in love.”
“It’s some bullshit,” I said. “Remember when I got hit in the face with that line drive you hit, and my eye was black and blue and swollen shut and my cheek blew up and I couldn’t eat or talk or sleep or even breathe right?”
“Yeah.”
“This is worse. I can’t fucking wait for it to end.”
“And you think it will end when she leaves?”
“It fucking better.” But I knew, even when I couldn’t see her every day, that I’d only be more miserable.
At that moment, Veronica came out of the elevator again, a drinks carrier holding two large coffees in one hand and a white bag in the other. Xander and I both stood up as she approached.
“I got you both large dark roasts,” she said. “Austin, this one labeled with the A is yours—it has a little almond milk in it. And in this bag are a couple egg sandwiches. That’s all they had at the coffee shop downstairs.”
“Perfect,” Xander said, taking the cup with the X on it and the sandwich bag before sitting down again. “You’re a saint.”
She handed me the other cup.
“Thanks,” I muttered stiffly.
“You’re welcome. You’ll let me know about George?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She turned to leave, then suddenly spun around and threw her arms around me. “It will be okay,” she whispered.
I closed my eyes and held her close, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. She let go too soon, and without saying anything else, hurried over to the elevator and got in. As the doors closed, I could see her wiping her eyes.
I stood there for a moment, my heart telling me to run after her, my feet refusing to budge.
“I just have one more thing to say,” Xander said.
I sank down beside him, figuring he was just going to insult me again. “If you’re going to call me names, fuck off.”
“I wasn’t going to call you anything. I was just going to remind you of what Dad would say if he was here—it only happens once.”
They kept my dad overnight for observation and released him on Saturday with a couple new medications and instructions to take it easy. Xander and I took turns staying with him over the next few days, and on Thursday evening, Veronica and the kids came to stay with him for a bit while Xander and I brought the new bar top over to his bar.
After installing it, we stood back and admired the way it looked. I had to admit, Xander had been right—it was perfect.
“Thanks, brother.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “It’s exactly what I wanted. I swear I’ll pay you for your time as soon as I can.”
I shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
He glanced at me. “How are you?”
“This week has been rough,” I admitted.
“When does she leave?”
“Saturday morning.”
“And you’re going to let her go?”
“It’s her choice,” I said, rubbing my stiff neck.
“But to be fair, she’s not making an informed decision. She doesn’t know how you feel about her. You need to get over yourself and tell her.”
I clenched my jaw. “What’s the point? These things never work out anyway. What if I tell her and she stays and then later, she’s sorry? What if she gives up everything to stay here with me and she realizes it was a mistake? What if I just keep fucking things up and saying the wrong things and failing her?”
“Aha,” Xander said knowingly. “There it is.”
“There what is?”
“The reason not to do the thing that would make you happy—fear. Only in this case, you’d make her happy too. And my guess is the kids as well. But . . .” He thumped my back again. “You do you.”