Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“Thank you. Really.”
I wink at her, then pull my phone from my pocket and text my partner.
Rainey and I order lunch. The pizza won’t be as good as the food truck, but I don’t care what we eat as long as we’re together. Then we get to work. It’s a lot, filling the bags, folding and rolling T-shirts before putting them inside, among other things. And when the food arrives, we agree to take a break.
I wait until we finish eating and clean up the garbage before I ask her to sit down again at the small table we set up for our late lunch. So late it’s almost dinnertime.
“Okay, I think you’ve stalled long enough. What’s on your mind?” she asks.
She’s right. This isn’t a conversation I’m comfortable having, but it’s necessary. “So, here’s the thing. Even when we get Jack on board with our relationship—”
“When? You’re so sure we can get Jack to accept us?” she asks.
I nod. “I am. I can handle him.” He wants someone who will take care of his sister, and that’s me. He’ll get over the shock and anger. In time. “It’s your father I’m worried about. I know how much you love your parents and don’t want to disappoint them.”
She takes a sip of her soda from one of the cans we’d gotten with our order. “Why would me being with you upset them?” She props her chin on her hands. “I really don’t understand.”
It’s better to lay things out for her, starting at the beginning. “What did your father think of me when Jack and I became friends? What did he tell you about me?”
She meets my gaze, her cheeks flushed. “If we’re being honest, he wasn’t happy when he found out about your past. Or the things you got in trouble for when you first came to live with the Carrases.”
I nod. Despite her confirming what I already know, and even despite understanding that Ian Dare had every reason not to want his kids around me back then, it hurts to hear the truth.
“I’m not so sure his feelings have changed.” When she opens her mouth, I hold up a hand. “At least not when it comes to his precious daughter.” And the last thing I want to do is come between Rainey and her father.
Her brothers? I’m not lying when I tell her I believe I can handle them.
Ian Dare? I’m not so sure.
She rises from her seat and sets her hands on her hips, looking at me with a disappointed look of her own. “Lucas Carras, you are not the same man as the boy you were.”
I let out a chuckle because—“You sound like my mom.”
She treats me to a beautiful and wide smile. “That’s quite the compliment since she strikes me as a very smart woman. She said we make a beautiful couple, after all.”
I manage a smile. “I appreciate your optimism but—”
“How about you let me handle my parents and we’ll deal with Jack together?”
I take her hand. “I like that idea.” Us being together is the goal.
“I’m not dismissing your concerns, though I think they belong in the past. But when we agreed to a fling, I wanted to keep things a secret because I was afraid it would look unprofessional to be with someone I’m working with.”
“I remember.” I also recall not liking it, but I’m not going to mention that now.
She raises her shoulders in a shrug. “I was wrong. I was so hung up on what happened to me in the past with Gregory Attwater and my career that I restricted myself and tried to make everything perfect.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask her.
She rises and walks around the table, coming up beside me and sitting on my lap. “Yeah. It’s being with you that’s perfect,” she murmurs.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say, as she seals her lips to mine.
I respond, loving the taste and feel of her, but my mind isn’t on the kiss. As optimistic as she seems, I’m more concerned about what her family will say. Because I won’t be satisfied until I have her brother’s one free shot at hitting me behind us, and her father’s blessing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Rainey
I wake up the next morning after a fitful night’s sleep. Once I finished with the goodie bags, Lucas followed me to my apartment to make sure I arrived safely before he headed back home. He’s such a gentleman but so hung up on the mistakes of his past, he doesn’t see himself the way the rest of the world does. But I’m determined to show him he’s wrong. Especially about my father. I don’t miss the irony, though. While I’m worried about Jack’s reaction, he’s concerned about my dad’s.
Though I have calls to make to assure myself all the vendors will show up for the anniversary party, I need to take care of something for Lucas first. I call ahead to see where I can find my father. He isn’t going into the office today, so here I am on my parents’ front porch.