Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I ask, “What would you like to eat?”
Lily shakes her head. “Anything. You can choose.”
I dial the number for La Magnifique, and even though they don’t usually offer takeout, they always make an exception for me.
When I end the call, Lily hands me a cup of coffee, and I follow her to the living room.
I wait for her to pick which couch she wants to sit on before taking a seat next to her. Turning my body to face her, I take a sip of my beverage.
“Before I forget.” She gestures at her phone. “I received the invite for the birthday party I mentioned in my application.”
“When is it?”
“The end of this month.” Her eyebrows draw together. “Will you be able to go with me?”
“Of course.” I set my cup down on the coffee table before taking hold of her hand. “Give me a quick rundown of your friends.”
The sadness returns to her eyes. “They’re not my friends.” She swallows hard. “Not anymore.”
“What happened?”
Lily’s eyes drift to the windows. “I was more invested in the friendship than they were.” Her gaze flits back to me. “But I still want to go to the party.”
Remembering everything she said in her application, I ask, “You want to make them see you?”
She nods, but then guilt tightens her features. “With you by my side, they’ll have no choice but to notice me.” Her shoulders slump. “Please don’t think I’m only taking you to impress them. It might’ve been the case two weeks ago, but it’s not anymore.”
“I know, Lily,” I say so she won’t worry. “We’ll go.” My lips curve in a smile. “And I don’t mind if you show me off to your friends.” I shake my head. “Let’s rather call them acquaintances instead.”
She leans forward and presses a kiss to my mouth. “Thank you.”
Wanting her to open up to me, I say, “In the application, you mentioned they ignore you. What’s that about?”
Her eyes lower to the cup in her hand. “Whenever I send a message, they take days to reply.” She lets out a sigh. “Sometimes they don’t even bother responding.” Emotion tightens her features, and her eyes well with unshed tears. “My family does the same thing.”
She shakes her head again, biting her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.
Moving closer, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. I press her head beneath my chin.
“You’re the first person who checks in on me,” she whispers. “You always reply within minutes. You even got upset because I didn’t answer your messages quickly enough. I’ve never had that before. It’s nice to feel like I matter.”
Christ Almighty.
Taking hold of her jaw, I tip her head back so I can see her face. “You’re kidding, right?”
She doesn’t have to answer me. I can see the pain in her eyes.
My heartbeat speeds up, and a wave of anger hits me square in the chest.
I can’t believe her friends and family treat her this way. What the fuck is wrong with them?
Capturing Lily’s eyes with mine, my voice is filled with certainty when I say, “You matter to me. More than I care to admit at the moment.”
She gives me another kiss, then murmurs, “I needed to hear that. Thank you.” She takes a sip of her coffee before placing her mug next to mine. “Enough about me.” Her eyes flick to my face. “How was your day?”
“It was good until you disappeared on me,” I tease.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I weave our fingers together before I say, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Chapter 23
Lily
Staring at Callan, who can have any woman he wants, I find it hard to believe he’s interested in me.
Yet, he’s here.
He comforted me and listened to my problems. I don’t think he’ll ever understand how much that means to me.
With his thumb brushing against my skin, a serious light creeps into his blue eyes.
“I want to explain why I reacted so strongly tonight,” he says, his tone deeper than usual.
“Okay.” I give him all my attention as I wait for him to continue.
“Remember I told you about my best friend who passed away six years ago?”
I nod. “I remember.”
Callan takes a deep breath, a flash of grief tightening his features. “His name was Dylan. We were like brothers.”
To be supportive, I give his hand a squeeze.
“The day of the accident, I tried messaging and calling him, but there was no answer. I only found out much later he died. His death hit me hard, and it was the most traumatizing thing that’s ever happened to me. If it weren’t for Harper and my family, I’m not sure I would’ve survived losing Dylan.”
I scoot closer to him. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. It makes him look so sad I want to hug him and never let go.