Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“I wish to God you didn’t have to see him like that,” he says.
“I don’t judge you based on your father,” I say. “I’m just glad I could be there for you.”
“I wish you always could be.”
I know the words slipped out, the emotions of the day at the surface for Ben.
And my eyes fill with tears because he’ll never know how much I wish the same thing.
Chapter Ten
Ben
Summer is folding clothes in her room, having done laundry, and I sit on the couch, checking work email on my laptop. I’ve had a few peaceful days with no stress from Summer’s schedule and no word from my father. I didn’t expect to hear from Nate, and I’m not of the mindset that no news is good news, because his silence could just as easily mean he’s gone back to his drinking rather than make an attempt to sober up. Time will tell.
As for Summer, she doesn’t have another engagement planned until a media junket over the following weekend. According to her agent, Jade’s tour opens in a little over two months, and she is getting closer to making a decision. As much as I want Summer’s dreams to come true, I’m not looking forward to the end of this assignment. The end of us. I didn’t listen to my gut or my own words to Summer, and kept my distance.
I introduced her to my friends and colleagues and brought her into my fractured family life. She knows me better than even those at Alpha Security who are closest to me. And she’s supported me in ways that I’ve never let anyone else do.
I allowed her to see the weakest part of me, and instead of running away, she stepped up. Hell, she cooked for my old man. She was quiet when I needed silence to process the day, and open and giving when I needed her later that night.
And I knew her. From her hopes and dreams of success to her endearing insecurities before going on stage, I understand her. I want to protect the girl who was hurt by her parents from further pain, and at the same time, I wish I could shake them and make them be there for her when she needs them.
This is the closest I’ve let myself get to any woman in my life, and losing her is going to rip my heart out because I’ve fallen in love with her.
I was too wrapped up in my anger with my father to see it then, but looking back, I knew it the second I saw her making eggs for my hungover dad. Ponytail bouncing against her back, no judgment in her gaze, she is my perfect woman. No matter how big a star she becomes, I love the normal girl she is inside.
And fuck. That thought rips through me painfully, because there is no happy ending that I can see. The upcoming feeding frenzy with the press junket might be the last event before her life’s direction takes a drastic change. I refuse to consider that she won’t get the opportunity she deserves, because I don’t want to be with her only because she lost her big chance. She’ll never be happy that way. Not even with me by her side.
I run a hand through my hair and groan just as an email from Dan pops up on my screen. I open the note from my boss and read: No luck with Tawny Renee situation. From all indications, she’s absorbed in her own opportunities. Even her bodyguard interview came up empty. He thinks she’s innocent of all wrongdoing against Summer. Still watching her though.
As for Michael Gold, the man is a piece of work. He married into money and got his start thanks to his father-in-law being in the talent industry. And his wife, with whom he has three children, is a brilliant entertainment lawyer. He’s been treading water as an agent before he went to work for his father-in-law, owing everything to the older man. Or so it seems. So he is greedy and a slimy asshole, but nothing stands out on him, either, in Dan’s report. Which means until whoever is after Summer makes a mistake, we are shit out of luck.
Summer walks out of her room, wearing a pair of ripped leggings and an oversized sleep shirt. Makeup-free, she looks even younger and so beautiful.
“Hey.” She treats me to a wide smile.
“Hey yourself,” I say.
“So I was thinking,” she says as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, clearly wired.
“What’s up?”
“I need a change of scenery. I want to get away from these walls that feel like they’re closing in on me.”
I narrow my gaze, my focus on her safety, as always. “What did you have in mind?”