Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Sophia laughs. “I should do that with Kendall. She’s been enjoying Maria picking up after her a little too much.”
“It’s okay to spoil her a little.” I shrug, making Sophia laugh.
My house is two stories with all the rooms on the second floor, so we both head up the stairs. When we get to the room Sophia is staying in, we stop. “Is there anything you need so you’re comfortable?” She shakes her head. “All right.” I step closer to her. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I kiss her forehead, and am about to walk away, when her fingers curl around my wrist.
“I know it’s late, but do you think we could talk tonight?”
I turn around, my gaze meeting hers. She’s pleading with her eyes, and even though I’m tired as hell, I nod. I want answers and I’ll take ’em whenever she’s willing to give ’em.
Once we’re in my room, I sit on the love seat, expecting her to sit in the reading chair, but instead she sits next to me. Needing to say something before she begins, I start first. “I was already in a relationship once with someone who kept shit from me. She lied, kept secrets. It destroyed us. And I can’t do it again.”
“I know,” she says softly. “When you told me that on Christmas Eve, it gave me a lot to think about. It’s part of the reason why I pushed you away. I want so badly to tell you, but once I do, I can never take it back, and that’s really scary for me.”
Her voice is raspy, nervous, and I realize she’s scared. Not of me, or what I’ll think, but of what would happen if the secret got out. I take her hands in mine and edge closer. “Whatever it is, I will do everything in my power to protect you. And not just because you’re the mother of my baby, but because I care a lot about you. I’ve completely fallen for you, Dash.”
“That’s the thing,” she says, her eyes going glassy with unshed tears. “Nobody can protect me.” She squeezes her lids together and shakes her head, and when she opens her beautiful green eyes, she looks resolute. “But life is so short, and I want to live it and be in love. And in order to do that, I have to let you in and hope, no matter where the future leads, you’ll never tell anyone. Because nobody knows, not even Naomi. And if it ever got out, I could lose my daughter.”
Fresh tears fill her eyes, and my heart drops. Whatever she has to say must be pretty bad. She said she can’t be protected, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure she and her daughter are.
“When I was eighteen, I fell in love with a man, who I thought felt the same way about me. We spent six months together and I got pregnant. And then I found out that he was engaged to be married… I confronted him, and he told me I was just a hole to fill.”
Sophia flinches, and when I look down, I see I’m squeezing my fists with her hands in mine. I loosen my hold. “He’s an asshole.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I told him I was pregnant, and he told me to get rid of it. When I refused, he threatened me. Told me if anyone finds out about the baby or that we were together, he would destroy my family, making sure they lost their jobs. My mom had just started at a real good job for the first time. And…” She swallows thickly. “He told me he would take my baby from me.”
“The fuck?” I bark out. “Who the hell does this guy think he is? He cheated and had the nerve to threaten you? Fuck him.”
“You don’t get it,” she says. “Every threat he made he could make come true because…” She takes a deep breath. “He’s Freeman Carmichael.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EASTON
Freeman Carmichael… Where the hell have I heard that name before? And then it hits me. “The fucking governor of California?”
“That’d be him. Although at the time, he was just a college student. And now he’s running for senator. He has so many connections, Easton, which is why I was scared to be seen with you in public. When people find out who I am, they’re going to dig, and I was scared they would dig up my skeletons. But I thought about it, and nobody knows I was with him. Kendall’s birth certificate doesn’t have a name on it, and I’ve told everyone from the beginning, her father is dead. I’m still scared, but I want to be with you,” she says, placing her palms on the sides of my face.
“If people somehow find out, I’ll figure out a way to fight him, but I’m hoping it won’t come to that. I just don’t know what else to do.” Tears spill over her lids and slide down her cheeks. “I’ve been alone for the last seven years and now here you are, and I care about you and want to be with you, and I know it’s selfish, but I just want to be happy,” she chokes out.