Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
“Mom,” she cuts in, her cheeks blushing fiercely.
“Well, he was!” she snaps. “How are you going to judge anything with him accurately?”
“I’m not trying to trick anyone,” I bark, standing up. “I’m not that sort of guy. I never have been. I haven’t dated in years; even when I did, it was hollow. It wasn’t like …” I stare at Lily, the messiness of her hair and flushed cheeks, that lip-biting that entrances me. “… this.”
She swallows, her throat shifting, the blush spreading. It’s like I can see the uncertainty battling inside her.
“Please, Landon,” Vivian says. “We don’t need to hear this. Lily needs time to process the kiss.”
“Mom, don’t speak for me,” Lily replies.
“Am I wrong?” Her mother demands.
“I … I don’t know!” she yells, throwing her hands up.
“See? Now you’re stressing her out.”
“It’s not him, Mom. It’s just everything.”
“Everything, meaning the kiss.”
“Mom,” she snaps. “Please.”
“I’m going to give my honest opinion on this.” Vivian glares at me, a far cry from the gratitude I’ve seen on her face until now. “There’s only one reason older men target women your age. They want control.”
“She’s making me lose control,” I say, my voice loud, my passion too obvious. “Until I saw her at The Row, I lived a cold, calculated life. I was ice. You hear me? Then she came along and melted me, and I don’t give a damn how that sounds.”
“Melted you,” Vivian hisses. “After, what, a few meetings? One? Two? How many?”
“Mom,” Lily whispers, her voice tangled with confusion. “You don’t know how I feel about this.”
“Do you?” Vivian counters, and Lily doesn’t have an answer for that. She folds her arms and stares right at me. Despite the circumstances, I have to admire her mother-bear instincts. I’m happy Lily has somebody so capable and fierce looking out for her. “Let’s make it simple. Are you going to marry my daughter?”
“Mom.”
“Do you envision a serious future? Let’s assume this isn’t a scam to get her into bed. Let’s assume you’re not just playing on her emotions.”
“That’s a safe assumption,” I say coldly.
“How far are you going to take this?”
“Mom …”
“I have every right to ask,” Vivian snaps.
“I don’t know,” I say. Months, not years … “Recently, I went to the doctor. He gave me some bad news. Truthfully, I don’t know how much longer I’ve got.”
“What?” Vivian snaps, and I know right away she doesn’t believe me. I can’t blame her. I saw how badly Russ messed with her head. “Do you expect us to believe that?”
“Are you serious?” Lily says, her voice cracking.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m just waiting on the follow-up appointment to confirm a few details, but the doc said it looks like months, not years.” Emotion tears at my voice, making it raspy, husky. “Truthfully, I don’t know what kind of future I can offer, but I’d never hurt Lily. I’d never manipulate her. I’d never use her.”
I stride for the door. There’s a tear in my eye, just one. I can feel it clinging to my lash like it’s trying to make me break down. This is all too damn much to go from an ordered, peaceful existence to this.
Walking across the street, I climb into my car, looking one last time at the apartment, but Lily doesn’t come out or even stand at the window. I can’t blame her. I hope they remember what I said about my cell. Day or night, they can call me.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LILY
“Ineed to leave for work soon,” I say over the sound of the hairdryer.
Mom paces anxiously, biting her fingernails. “I didn’t mean to fly off the handle like that, but what else did you expect me to do? The whole thing is suspicious.”
“He wouldn’t lie about that,” I say, struggling to keep my voice steady. “He has got months, he said—months. Did he look like he was lying to you?”
“Your dad never looked like he was lying, either.”
“Dad would never have helped somebody like Landon helped us.”
My thoughts feel twisted up. Mom makes all the points I’ve been throwing at myself to remind myself why this can never work. Yet, when they come from her, I want to defend him, defend us.
“Even if he is telling the truth, he proved my point,” Mom declares. “If he hasn’t got long, why does he want you, Lily? What for?”
“What if I want the same thing?” I yell. “What if I want to have some fun with him? Not everything has to be serious. Not everything has to be forever. If he’s telling the truth, it means he’ll be gone before he shows his true colors, right?”
The words come out vicious and cold. I don’t like the way I sound at all.
“I need to get to work,” I say, cutting her off when she tries to reply. “I can’t not go to work. People need me. I need to keep my job and make a good impression to be an actual social worker one day. I can’t mess this up. To do that, I have to focus. Okay? Okay?”