Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Mmhmm.” My cheeks redden a little.
Aunt Elle knows about my arrangement with Rich. She doesn’t pass judgment. Probably because she saw what I went through with Zeus. That, and she’s never had a serious relationship in her life.
“Married to the job,” she always tells me.
“I won’t go out until she’s in bed.”
“Cam, you should go out. And not just to Rich’s for a booty call.”
“Please never say that again,” I groan, slapping a hand to my face.
She laughs. “Go out and enjoy yourself. Get Rich to take you out for dinner or drinks.”
Okay, so I take it back. She never used to interfere. I’m wondering if me seeing Zeus last night has set this off.
“We don’t do that,” I tell her. “And I go out enough.”
She turns, facing me, and rests her hip against the counter. “You should do that. Rich likes you. A lot. I can tell. He’s always asking me about you. He’s a good guy, Cam. He’d take care of you.”
“You mean, he’s not Zeus.”
“No, he isn’t. You need to start living your life, Cam.”
“I am living it.” I defensively fold my arms.
“Your life centers around Gigi. And that’s great. It should. You’re an amazing mother. But you don’t do anything for yourself. You don’t go out. You don’t date. And I know it’s because of him and what he did.”
“You haven’t committed to a man,” I cut her off. “You never had a man in your life while I was growing up. And you still don’t now.”
She sighs and runs a hand through her long, dark hair. “But that’s not because of what someone did to me. The moment I became a cop, I married my job. And, when you came to me…you needed me. The life you had with your mom…God, I loved my sister, Cam. And I don’t want to speak ill of your mom, but she didn’t do right by you. She was an addict. She moved you around all the time. Let different men in and out of her life. I tried to help her, get her clean, but she wouldn’t listen. She fought me at every turn. She was too far gone for me to help her. But you weren’t. And, if I’m being honest here, I was going to go after custody of you anyway if she hadn’t died.”
I suck in a breath. “You never told me that.”
She lifts a shoulder. “I loved you. And I wanted you safe. You needed security and stability, Cam. I’m married to the badge. I had room for only one person in my life back then, and it was you.”
I can feel myself getting weepy. I’m not usually this emotional, but seeing Zeus last night has really knocked me off course.
Aunt Elle walks over, standing before me, and takes hold of my long hair, smoothing it over my shoulders. “I just want you to have something for yourself,” she says.
“I dance,” I say softly.
“At the club, which is work. I just want you to go out this once, let your hair down, and have fun.”
“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll go out for drinks with Rich. Happy?”
She smiles winningly. “Yep.”
I roll my eyes right as the doorbell rings. “I’ll get it,” I tell her.
After I walk out of her embrace, I stop and look back at her. “I know I don’t call you Mom, but I think of you as my mother. You know that, right?”
Her expression goes tender. “I know.”
The doorbell rings again.
“Christ. Impatient much? Coming!” I yell.
I walk out of the kitchen, heading for the front door, and I pass the stairs. “Gigi, you got those ballet shoes yet? We’re leaving in a few minutes.”
“I’m getting them now!” Her voice sounds high-pitched and squeaky, and it only gets that way when she’s doing something she shouldn’t be.
I pause at the foot of the stairs. “Gigi?”
The bell rings again.
I look over my shoulder at the door and yell, “I’m coming!” Then, my eyes go back to the stairs. “Giselle Grace Reed, get your cute little butt down here right now.”
She appears at the top of the stairs, stepping out from behind the wall.
“Oh, for the love of all that is holy. Gigi!”
I’m guessing what was my new red lipstick is now smeared all over her face. She looks like a clown.
“What were you thinking?”
She shrugs. “I’m sorry, Mommy. But it was just there, and it was so pwetty. I’m weally sorry.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Go in the bathroom. I’m gonna answer the door, and then I’ll be there to help you wash it off.”
She hightails it off to the bathroom. I mutter a few choice words under my breath and head for the front door.
I bend down and pick up the mail. Then, I unlock the door and swing it open, and my heart stops. “Jesus!” The mail drops from my hand, scattering to the floor.