Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
His mom smiled. “He always had a thing for Daisy.”
“I did not. I mean I thought she was sweet and everything,” Nate argued and then realized he wasn’t this dumb. “I mean. I did. Always.”
Daisy’s eyes were on the door her father had walked through.
“You did,” his mother said. “You just didn’t understand at the time, but I knew.” His mum moved over to Daisy. “Sweet girl, are you all right?”
Daisy burst into tears, and all the women surrounded her.
His heart ached, and he hoped they could make it through this particular storm.
* * * *
Daisy sat outside on the rooftop section of Sanctum. It was pretty and had a great view, and she hadn’t known it existed until today.
They definitely needed something like this at The Hideout. If she was allowed back at The Hideout.
The morning had been perfectly horrible, and she wondered if her father would ever speak to her again. Oh, he’d said he loved her, but that might be habit.
Bri and Devi had brought more of her things. And she’d definitely noticed someone had slipped a box of extra-large condoms in. It was either her friends being cheeky or Uncle Ian being true to form. Her friends had been sending her texts all day, checking in on her. And she’d gotten a surprising amount of texts from the guys at The Hideout asking if she was coming in next weekend. What was up with that?
What she hadn’t gotten was an update from her da, who was apparently on his way to Central America.
“Hey, I made you some tea,” Nate said as he walked out onto the balcony. The sun was starting to move to the west, and this particular part of the rooftop space faced east. He had a tray in his hands. “I added some pastries Bri and Devi brought. Remind me to thank them for breakfast. Mum is making us a late lunch, but I thought you might be hungry. The moms are taking the apartment, by the way. Do you want to stay in the jukebox room?”
She forced herself to look up at him. “Do you want to stay with me at all?”
Nate had been with Ian and Alex most of the day, or helping his mother get comfortable. They hadn’t talked much after he’d held her while she cried. She’d wanted some time alone. Was reality hitting him hard?
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I? Is this about the mess with your father? Love, I never once thought you were some saint. Or a virgin who’d saved herself for her one true love. Though you should know I do intend to be your one true love, and I’ll keep you so satisfied you won’t look at another man.”
She wanted to believe him. “Nate, I wasn’t lying to my father. Not this morning. I got into a lot of trouble as a kid. Or rather I didn’t. I was good at covering my tracks. I drank and I had sex probably way before I was truly ready. And I can’t blame them because they were great parents.”
“There’s no blame, Dais. You were a kid and you experimented. I was sixteen.” He sat across from her. “I shouldn’t have done it in the billabong. There was probably bacteria and stuff, but she was seventeen and I was willing to risk a lot.”
Daisy couldn’t help but smile. And realize there was zero jealousy because this was his past and she wanted his future. “I was nineteen. Though I’d done a lot of sexy stuff before that, it was my first penetrative sex. It wasn’t great, but I knew I was just missing something. I’ve read a lot of romance novels. I know I should say I never had decent sex until I met the man of my dreams.”
There was a dimple in his chin when he smirked that made her heart beat faster. “Well, you met me practically at birth.”
She was so crazy about this guy, but she had to give him every out. “I’m trying to be honest with you.”
“No, you’re letting guilt seep in, and it could ruin everything. There’s no reason to feel guilty about having good sex. I had some good sex, and I hope it was good for the women I was with. Now I’m only going to have sex with you, and it’s going to be the best,” he said. “I love your past because it made you who you are.”
She sniffled and stood up, moving into his arms. “Thank you, Nate. I wish my father felt the same.”
She moved back and looked down at what he’d brought her. A tea setup with a couple of mini sandwiches and some cookies. She poured the tea into one of the cups.
“He’ll come around. I assure you my father’s working on him,” Nate said, standing over her. “What do you think your father meant about saving you?”