Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
My heart lurches. “You haven’t seen my father again?”
The question has angered her, obviously. But she manages a fairly calm tone when she replies. “No, I haven’t seen, spoken to, or texted with him, Max. He’s married. Not to mention, a lying sack of shit.”
I run my palm down my face. “The bottom line is you mind-fucked me, Marnie. And I didn’t appreciate it. I also don’t like the fact that you fucked me at Grayson’s party without telling me the truth about all this, and then ran out on me again, without explanation.”
“I’m sorry about all of it. I don’t know what else to say to you. I’m sorry. I was wrong. You deserved better.” Marnie takes a deep, calming breath. Clearly, apologies aren’t her forte. In fact, it’s clear it’s paining her to give me such an unequivocal one now. She huffs out, “By the way, please don’t get it twisted and think my sexual fantasies about you this past year—or the fact that I haven’t been with anyone else since you—mean that I’ve been pining for you. I haven’t been. I decided to hold off on sex until I was ready to look for a serious relationship. You were a good fantasy because sex with you was objectively amazing, and you were my last sexual partner. It's as simple as that.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She scowls. “Which part?”
“Ta da!” the girls shout. They’ve emerged from Dress-up Corner and are now standing in front of Marnie and me in costumes over their clothes. Marnie’s kid is dressed as a doctor, which is easy to surmise based on her white lab coat and plastic stethoscope, while her cute friend is a construction worker, complete with yellow hard hat and a colorful tool belt with plastic tools.
“A carpenter and a doctor,” Marnie says, replacing her scowl with a fake smile.
Ripley frowns. “No, Mommy, I’m a vet-ah-noomian, like Auggie. Gigi told me about dat. Dat’s a doctor for animals.”
“Now, that’s a solid career choice,” I say. “Animals are always honest with you. What you see is what you get with them, unlike with people.”
As I say the word people, I glare at Marnie, letting her know, yeah, babe, I’m talking about you.
Marnie returns my glare before smiling at her daughter again. She says, “It’s pronounced veterinarian, honey.”
“Vet-ah . . .?”
“Narian.”
The kid tries saying the word several times, and finally gets it. Sort of.
“Why don’t you two put on another round of costumes?” I say. “The bell could ring at any minute.”
The girls run off again, heading straight for Dress-Up Corner, and the second they’re out of earshot, Marnie says, “What don’t you believe?”
“That you haven’t been pining for me.”
She scoffs. “Why on earth would I pine for a thirty-year-old, emotionally unavailable man with zero interest in settling down?”
I shrug. “You know full well we connected that night beyond sex. Our conversations weren’t the usual pablum. They were deep and interesting. We made a real connection. And ever since, you’ve been pining for me. Which is why you haven’t had sex with anyone else since me.”
Marnie snorts. “Sounds like someone’s been pining. And it wasn’t me.”
“Babe, I’ve been the opposite of pining. This whole time, I’ve been out there living my best life. Winning at the game of life.”
“Yeah, you’ve been winning so much, you just now begged me to pretend to be your fiancée to get yourself a stupid promotion.”
Anger vibrates through me, but I manage a calm tone. “The promotion isn’t stupid. It’s the only pathway I’ve been able to figure out to achieve my highest career goal. And I didn’t beg. I asked. And you said no. So, whatever. Fine. I’ll figure out another way.”
“Good. Clearly, you wouldn’t even want me to come now, anyway. So, it’s all for the best I said no.”
My stomach twists. Is that a true statement? Hearing Marnie say it out loud doesn’t ring true, despite what I’ve learned about her and my father. As a matter of fact, I know in my gut if Marnie did yet another about-face and suddenly told me yes, I’d take her up on the offer. I’m not proud of that fact, but there it is.
My eyes drift to Dress-Up corner, where Marnie’s kid and the other one are furiously getting themselves costumed. Suddenly, when Marnie’s pint-sized doppelganger realizes I’m watching her, she waves enthusiastically at me and shouts, “I love you!”
“Jesus Christ,” Marnie mutters. “Please don’t let this be a preview of her future dating habits. Please, don’t let my daughter grow up and be exactly like me.”
“A coward, you mean?”
She glares at me. “A woman who throws herself at a handsome, disinterested, and emotionally unavailable man in a designer suit, only to realize he truly doesn’t give a crap about her and never will.”
“Would that be my father or me?”