Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Keep having to go away. A little dramatic since it had been nine months since I’d left Izzy to go out to California for Anna’s wedding and had been home with her practically every night since.
“Aww … you’re upset because you’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”
“Grrr…”
“I’ll let you wake up a little while I make Nutella crepes.” I wasn’t above bribery to get her to sit down at the table and talk to me.
“Fine.” That was teenage speak for fuck you.
Fifteen minutes later, she couldn’t resist the smell of chocolaty hazelnut that wafted into her room. I plated a homemade crepe and slid it in front of her. “I bought some decaf Starbucks K-cups for you. Want me to make you a coffee?”
“I’d prefer caffeine.”
I opened the Keurig and popped in a decaf. “I’d prefer elves to come and do my laundry, but I settle for carrying it down to the laundry room in the basement.”
“We had someone who did the laundry when my father was around.”
Izzy preferred to remember only the good things about her father. Rather than remind her that the housekeeper was paid for by the life savings of unsuspecting families who’d trusted her father with their investments, I simply said, “Things change.”
After I made her a mug of decaf, I joined her at the table with my second cup of regular. “I should make it back by the time your game starts on Tuesday night. If for some reason I’m late, Marina’s mom is going to text me the score updates.”
She shrugged. “I’m starting. But it’s not a big deal if you can’t make it.”
“Are you kidding? This is a huge deal. When was the last time a sophomore started on a varsity basketball team at Beacon?”
She tried to play it off like she didn’t care, but I saw it in her eyes. “Never.”
“Well, I can’t wait to watch you not only start as a sophomore, but kick butt.”
She ate her breakfast in relative quiet after that. When I was unloading the dishwasher, she surprised me by starting a conversation. For more than two years now, almost every conversation had been started by me.
“Are you going alone to California?”
“Of course. Who else would I go with?”
She looked away. “That guy you went out with last week.”
I stopped unloading to give her my full attention. “No. That was just a date. And I don’t think I’ll be going out with him a second time.”
Her voiced pepped up. “Because of Dad?”
“No, honey, not because of your dad. My dating choices have nothing to do with your father. Brad and I just didn’t connect.”
“He was ugly.”
I’d recently forced myself to start dating again. I didn’t have time to do it often, but when I did, I made sure not to bring them around for Izzy to meet.
My brows furrowed. “How do you know what he looked like?”
“You left your Mac open to Match.com when I borrowed it.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“He didn’t look like your type.”
Translation. He looked nothing like your father. “I’m trying to date outside my type.”
“Why would you do that?”
The truth was, I was attempting to avoid gorgeous men who swept me off my feet and out of my senses. It was safer that way. The climb back up wasn’t as treacherous when you didn’t fall down a giant hole. From now on, I was looking for comfortable to be with and pleasant to look at. Not a man who made my pulse race every time I went near him. But Izzy was smart enough to understand what I meant if I said that. And I’d vowed not to put her father down when speaking to her, no matter how tempting it often could be. Every little girl should be allowed to idolize her father and make her own decisions as she grew up. Someday Izzy might see Garrett for who he was, but I wouldn’t be the one to open her eyes.
“To be honest, I think I was too closed-minded when I was younger,” I told her. “If a boy wasn’t cool enough or good-looking enough, I really didn’t give him a chance. I judged a book by its cover, so to speak. Since I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that by doing that, you miss out on some pretty amazing people. So I’ve been trying not to focus on the silly stuff I used to.” I left off that her father was a prime example of my poor judgment. Right before I’d met Garrett, I’d gone out on a date with a great guy named Ian. He and I hadn’t had that instant chemistry, so when Garrett came along, I stopped returning Ian’s calls. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Ian. I just hadn’t been willing to wait for something to build between us.
Izzy was quiet for a moment. “My friends make fun of this boy Yakshit … well, because his name is Yakshit. He moved here from India last year. He’s in my science research class, and he plays on the boys’ basketball team. But he’s nice and makes me laugh.”