Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“See you later,” he says when we arrive to the departure zone.
“Goodbye, Travis.”
FORTY
PRESENT DAY
TRAVIS
Las Vegas, Nevada
I couldn’t believe Tatiana was still holding on to her ridiculous excuses, couldn’t believe she refused to leave her silly break-up reasoning behind so we could move forward.
The first time we broke up was painful enough.
“I don’t understand her logic at all,” I said aloud, sending off my tenth text message of the day.
Me:
Ryan said you checked into the Hilton? Come back home so we can talk.
“Um, Mr. Carter?” Madeline waved a hand in front of my face. “Should I come back some other time to discuss this week’s schedule changes?”
“No, stay.” I refreshed my screen again as if that would make a difference. “We can discuss things now.”
“Okay, well, since you and your wife were such a hit on Good Morning Vegas, the producers would like to do some additional promo for your fight.”
“She’s reading my messages and ignoring them on purpose.”
“That’s it.” She slammed a folder shut. “I’m calling Mr. Ralph. Maybe he can get your head back where it needs to be.”
“He’s already here,” I said. “I just heard the elevator.”
“Well, good. Hopefully he can set you straight.”
“Come in,” I called, saving him from a knock.
The door opened, and Penelope stepped inside, glaring at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Get out.”
“If Mom and Dad could see the asshole you’ve become, they’d be very disappointed,” she said.
“I don’t have time for you right now, Crown.”
“Make it.” She slammed the door shut. “I don’t even know what to say to you, but you should’ve told me about you and Tatiana a long time ago.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it’s fucked up!” Her voice cracked. “You’ve always been selfish, but to put your girlfriend—the woman who your sister is constantly competing against and complaining about—before your own flesh and blood? Back when I needed you the fucking most?”
“Penelope…”
“You really can’t see how big of a deal this is to me?”
“No, I honestly can’t.” I stood to my feet. “Because I never intended to hurt you, and I’ve always—fucking always—put you first.”
“Keep lying to yourself. You have no idea how to care about anyone but ‘Travis’ and you—”
“We were going to lose the fucking house one month after Mom and Dad died.” I cut her off. “They’d missed six mortgage payments without telling us, and their whole ‘let’s take a few months and travel out of an RV to save money for Penelope’s career’ was literally their way of saving face when the time came.”
Her face paled.
“They owed a shit ton of money to title loan companies, and they were considering pawning Mom’s medals to keep us afloat because they didn’t want us to know how fucking terrible they were with money.”
I stepped closer to her, unable to hide the truth anymore. “I promised to take care of you, and I took it upon myself to clear all the goddamn debt, too.”
“Yes, I was an asshole to you every now and then, and yes, I couldn’t be there for you like I wanted to, but it wasn’t because I was too busy falling in love with your enemy…” I paused. “It was just nice having someone who took care of me, too…”
Tears fell from her eyes, and we stared at each other in silence.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” She asked, finally.
“You had enough on your plate,” I said. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I could’ve helped you with their debt.”
“With what money, Crown?”
“I would’ve quit competing and got a job.”
“Exactly.” I sighed, wiping her face with my hand. “I didn’t want that for you. You needed to focus on skating.”
“I never made it to twenty-eight championships anyway. I swear, if I’d known—”
“Stop.” I shook my head. “It’s okay. You didn’t.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
“Mad? No…I’m fucking furious with you.”
“Good,” she said. “I’m still highly upset with you, too.”
“After I make your pregnant ass some dinner and agree to be Hayden’s best man, can you leave me the hell alone so I can think about how to fix things with my wife?”
FORTY-ONE
PRESENT DAY
TATIANA
Several Days Later
Manhattan, New York
All I wanted today was a fresh cup of miso soup, a box of spicy tacos, and an uninterrupted Law & Order: SVU marathon. This was the fourth day of my new routine, and I wanted to remain consistent.
I was so desperate for the food to be delivered that I stared out my front window in anticipation.
Just as I was about to call the cafe for an update, a black car pulled into a space across the street.
Swinging the door open, I held out the tip, but the woman stepping out of the vehicle was no delivery driver.
She was Penelope.
I stood frozen while she marched toward me, her expression completely stoic.
“Are you planning to let me in?” she asked. “We need to talk.”