Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I throw my hands up. “Let me stop everyone right here,” I say as calmly as I can. “Audrina and I have a lot to figure out, but that’s our responsibility. Just the two of us and no one else. I don’t know how else to tell you this.” I pause, looking at each one of our parents. “I have every intention of being the best father I can be, and together, we’ll raise Arwen. We don’t know the details, but please let us work through it. All we ask is for you to love our daughter.”
I feel Audrina tense beside me, and when I look at her, her eyes are cloudy with tears. “Our priority is Arwen. That’s it.”
I know she’s saying it for herself, and I wonder if anyone else believes her.
“Everyone’s main concern should be getting to know and love Arwen,” Ingrid says. She boops Arwen’s nose and signs, “Because she is the sweetest little girl.”
The tension in the room is suffocating, and emotions are all over the place. I can see why Audrina felt like this would come between our families. I see it happening in the way the two best friends of almost fifty years glare at each other.
I tuck my hands in my pockets, rocking on my heels as I look at the four people who raised me. “I know it’s all very messy, but what Audrina and I don’t want is this coming between us. No matter what, Arwen will come first.”
Audrina moves closer to me. “There has been enough pain and anger just between the two of us. We don’t want that for anyone else.” I smile to myself at her use of us, and I don’t miss the way she side-eyes me. I grin widely at her, and she rolls her eyes. She exhales and then looks at her mom. “I’m home. Thatcher made sure of that. Can we please just come together and love Arwen?”
“That’s a given, malyshonuk,” Anya says, her tears spilling over her lashes. “But you’re my baby, and I don’t like that you felt you had to run when you came up pregnant because of some boy.”
“Some boy,” my mom snaps. “That some boy is my boy, who is the best goddamn man in the world, besides my husband.”
Anya snorts at that, looking at me like she wants to spit on me. “Don would never knock you up, break your heart, and then force you to run.”
“Mom,” Audrina pleads. “Please, I’m good.” I actually believe her. “Has my world been turned upside down? Yes, but it’s for the best. Arwen has her daddy, her aunt, and now her babas and dedes. That’s important to her. To me. I made sure she knew all your faces.”
I watch as Mom chokes on a sob, and I swallow past my own emotion that threatens to choke me. I look away, and my gaze finds Audrina’s. Her eyes are wide, full of apprehension, and my heart aches at the sight. I reach out, taking her hand. She threads her fingers through mine, and then she whispers, “Thank you.”
I smile. “Anything for you.”
Her eyes flash with a look of displeasure that I’m becoming acquainted with. It’s her “You’re approaching the boundaries I’ve put up” look, but what she doesn’t realize is that I love that look. I love the flush that fills her cheeks, the way her eyes narrow as she raises her brows to her hairline. Fuck, she does it for me. She can look at me like that all she wants, as long as she’s looking at me.
I just hope she is seeing me.
As hers.
“Thatcher.”
My smile turns feral as I squeeze her hand, forgetting that we’re in a room full of our families. It isn’t until my mom speaks that I remember we’re not alone. “So, obviously, he wants to be with Audrina, but she’s holding out.”
“Because he broke her heart. Don’t forget that,” Anya snarks at my mom.
They glare, and I shake my head.
I’m pretty sure it’s going to be easier for Audrina to fall back in love with me than it will be for our moms to stay out of our business.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“How’s your knee?”
At Don’s question, I glance up from where I am sitting on the floor with Ingrid, Maeve, and my mom. Arwen sits in front of us, pouring us “tea” after Thatcher brought in a box of toys. Once we told everyone we weren’t discussing the past, only doing what’s best for Arwen, they all flocked to her like bees to honey. For as long as I can remember, our moms have always been in our business. I knew they would make everything even more complicated than it already was if I came back, but they’re somewhat respecting our wishes. I didn’t know that I could ask that of them, that I could come home and keep the worst part of my life in the past where it belongs. I’m still a bit worried with how Mom and Maeve throw little jabs at each other, but that’s their relationship.