Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 74882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“After this vacation is over and it’s back to the grind, we’ll find a way to make it work,” I tell her, my voice somber. “It’s not like I can’t hop a plane anytime I want to come see you.”
Her lips curl into a smile. “And I can work from anywhere. Daddy would love it if I got away from the office more.”
A tightness that had its hold on my heart releases as relief floods through me.
“How will David take it?”
She lets out a heavy sigh that makes my softening cock slip out of her. I settle beside her on the bed and stroke her hair from her face so I can see her eyes.
“David has suddenly decided he wants to lavish me with attention. Dinner last night was a nightmare. It felt different,” she admits. “Because he wasn’t you.”
I grin at her. “How did he take it?”
“Stop gloating,” she warns, swatting at me. “I don’t know. I ran away.”
“Good girl,” I tease. “You’re mine. Tell him that next time.”
“Am I, though?”
“Absofuckinglutely.”
“I’ve never seriously dated anyone before.” She brushes her fingertips along my jaw. “This is all new to me.”
“New to me too, but I can’t say I hate it. In fact, I really love it.”
I’m just thinking about taking her again because my dick can’t seem to get enough of this woman when my phone starts ringing. I reluctantly roll away from her to grab it from the end table where it’s charging.
“Hello?”
“Camilo…”
The heart in my chest that had been thundering wildly slows to a stop. Sheridan must sense the dread rippling off me in waves because she grabs my hand, her pretty face frowning.
“Yeah, Regina?” I croak out.
She pauses on the other line and lets out a ragged sigh. “He passed on peacefully.”
“I don’t understand.” Tears are forming in my eyes as denial hits me hard in the gut. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Your daddy died, son. I’m so sorry.”
The phone slips from my grip as I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling through a blur of tears. My entire body trembles with a bone-deep ache that I felt coming after Dad’s stroke, but was in no way prepared for. Something akin to a childish whine crawls up my throat. I can hear Sheridan speaking to Regina and then she hangs up. She wraps her body around mine so tight I think she might crush my ribs, and my girl cries with me.
Not my dad.
Not my hero, my confidant, my biggest cheerleader in life.
He’s gone.
Chapter 23
Sheridan
He’s heartbroken.
Destroyed and devastated.
Barely holding it together.
I know exactly how he feels because I’ve been there. Losing a parent was one of the most trying things I ever went through. As he stares ahead, a blank look on his face as we fly high through the clouds, I can’t help but see myself in him. Feel every ounce of his pain.
I want to comfort him and tell him everything’s going to be okay. That his dad lived a full life and he loved his son, but those are just words. Camilo doesn’t need to hear all that, just like I didn’t either when I was nine and lost my mother. He needs support. The strong, quiet kind. He needs someone to be his glue—to hold him together as he breaks apart. Camilo is fierce, that much is obvious, but he’s shattering. I can see it written all over his expressionless face because the eyes don’t lie.
His are angry and sad and confused.
He’s trying to make sense of how his father is gone.
As soon as he received the call, I booked us a flight to Florida. I texted Dad and told him I’d see him in LA. We dressed, packed, and were at the airport within hours. He needs to sleep because the next week is going to be a long, stressful one. The weight on his shoulders finally wins out because his eyes flutter closed and he’s soon breathing deeply. I pull my notebook out of my bag, continuing on with my checklist. I’ve texted Damian and Estefania to let them know. Then, I took Camilo’s phone and found important contacts there as well, making sure his mother and Carson knew too.
I soon fall into my element of planning and making things happen. In just under three hours, I have made a plan so Camilo won’t have to worry.
After we touch down, I guide him to the car service I’ve managed to secure. The driver loads our things in the trunk while I sit with Camilo in the back. He doesn’t say anything, just stares ahead. My heart breaks for him. I manage to get out of him where he lives so we can get some rest. I don’t have time to check out his place because it’s in the wee hours of the morning and he desperately needs to sleep. After kicking off our shoes, we fall into his bed that smells wonderfully like him. I spend the better part of the rest of the night running my fingers through his hair as he cries silently in the dark.