Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“Smush is not supposed to be called Smush, right?” she asked, trying to keep it all straight.
“Right. Sophia. But if you slip up, she will slap us, not you.”
“So, what I’m hearing is… if I somehow let it slip that August called her Smush…” she said, looking devilish. “That’s mean of me, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Maybe. But it will also make you fit right in. And, trust me, August has it coming.”
“Okay. So what are we saying about how we met?”
“Eventually, yeah. For the time being, everyone knows we met while on a job. That’s all they need to know until you get more comfortable. The men will know the whole truth, since we discuss work shit. And, eventually, that will leak out to the women. But for tomorrow, we can get away with just saying on the job.”
“Are they going to freak out when they hear it?”
“Granted, babe, our story is a good one, but it might not be the craziest one around.”
“I’m not sure I should find that as comforting as I do,” she said.
“It means you will fit right in.”
“You think?” she asked, and there was that little hint of insecurity and vulnerability there.
I hated hearing it. And I was going to do whatever it took to help build her back up and make her feel comfortable in this new phase of her life.
I knew it wouldn’t just be me, either. That was the perk of a large, loving family, something she’d never been privy to growing up.
She had no idea what was in store for her, what she would learn about herself and what she was capable of when she had the safety net of dozens of people who wanted to see her be happy and succeed.
It built you up. It made you believe that anything was possible. And it also comforted you because you knew that even if you did go for it and you failed, if you crashed and went home to lick your wounds, that they would be right there, with food, helping you recover, then encouraging you to get going once again.
It wouldn’t take long for Cammie.
Once she accepted that she fit in, it would only be a few weeks before she started to feel better, maybe a few months or a year until she believed to her core that everything would be okay, no matter what happened.
I was excited to see it. And to know what that love and safety would mean for her future.
But it was all going to start with a dinner.
“What’s up?” I asked when she started to frown again.
“What do you wear to meet the mother of the guy you started dating after you tracked him down and begged him for help after he once kind of inadvertently ruined your life?”
“What I’m hearing is you want to go shopping,” I said, smiling.
“And get Chinese,” she agreed. “And drive past the beach. And find some good coffee. I have a lot of time to make up for,” she added.
Yes, she did.
And I was happy to be along for the ride.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cammie - 1 day
It was ridiculous how nervous I was. Even after nearly a full day to come to terms with the upcoming dinner.
I think, really, what it all boiled down to the fact that… it really mattered.
It mattered to me that his mom liked me, that his sister liked me, his other brothers, his cousins, his second-cousins.
I wanted them to be able to look at me as someone who belonged in the family, because that was, ultimately, what I wanted.
Yes, things were new.
But I was pretty sure Massimo was the one.
I didn’t begin to understand it, but there was just some sort of… certainty in me.
And I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so certain about anything in my life before.
If I wanted to be a part of his life, then I would need to be a part of his family’s lives.
So first impressions were important. And I just felt… so out of my depths.
So I obsessed about the things I could control. Like what I wore.
I swear I tried on fifty different outfits before I decided on one that seemed to toe the line between casual and fancy, something that would look good next to Massimo’s suit, but also not look like I was trying too hard.
A simple black dress that, when I came out of the dressing room, Massimo had declared that Valley would be disappointed she didn’t get to it first.
Since I knew that Valley was a bit of a fashion freak, I figured that was the best compliment he could have given me about it.
“Are you coming?” I called, standing in the kitchen, trying not to work myself into too many knots because I didn’t want to show up any more anxious than necessary.
“Babe, just because Ma says to come at six doesn’t mean that is when we have to show up.”