Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, Blair.” He shook his head. “I wish I could just be happy for you. You deserve to enjoy your life without worrying about my reaction to anything.”
“I am happy. Truly. I’ve never enjoyed my life more. I know that might be hard to hear because it’s related to your father. But it’s the truth.”
He swallowed and looked around. “Where’s Nicholas?”
“He’s sleeping. You want me to wake him up?”
Taylor shook his head. “No, of course not.”
“Okay.” I rubbed my palms on my thighs. “How’s Juliana?”
“She’s good. She’s been dealing with my mental bullshit. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“I’m happy you found her.”
He nodded and looked at the floor.
“Your dad’s been beating himself up about hurting you,” I finally said. “I know you’re not ready to talk to him, but I need you to know that more than anything, he’s concerned for you. He hasn’t been the same since you found out.”
Taylor rubbed his temples. “I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m so hurt by this. I get that neither of you knew the other’s connection to me. I believe that you wouldn’t have knowingly hurt me. But I can’t wrap my head around him taking advantage of you.”
I shook my head. “I’m gonna be very blunt here… For most of our time together at the resort, he did everything he could to resist my advances. There was no ‘taking advantage’ of anyone. I explained that to you before, when neither of us realized who he was. The situation doesn’t change because the man I met and fell in love with turned out to be your father.”
He nodded and looked out the window for a moment, seeming to contemplate my words.
“Look, Taylor, I know I was young, and maybe somewhat naïve. But I’ve grown up a lot since then. I have the benefit of hindsight. And there’s still nothing I would change about the situation, aside from you being hurt. I love Tate even more now than I did then. And my dream is that someday you’ll accept that and be happy for us.”
He turned to me. “I want to get there. Even if I have issues with my dad, I at least owe you that acceptance. I promise I’ll try.” He shook his head. “I’m just not fully there yet.”
“That’s okay. As long as you’re open to understanding us. I don’t expect a miracle right away.” I sighed. “I’ve missed you.”
He smiled sadly. “Same.”
“This awkwardness between us feels…weird.” I blew a breath up into my hair. “I just want to like…shake you or something.” I smiled.
He chuckled, a hint of sadness still apparent.
Nicholas’s bedroom door opened and he wobbled out, rubbing his eyes. “Uncle Taylor!”
“Hey, buddy.” Taylor opened his arms as Nicholas walked over.
As Taylor wrapped his arms around my son, he closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them, I could see that they were red.
“I missed you,” he told Nicholas.
“Did you go back to Aruba?” my son asked.
“No, bud. I just…haven’t been able to come by for a while. But I didn’t want to go any longer without seeing you.”
“Did you bring me a present?”
“Actually, I did.” Taylor reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini red truck.
Nicholas’s face lit up. “A truck!”
“Did you know I saved every single one of the toy cars from when I was almost as young as you? This truck is one of a kind. You can’t find it anymore. I know how much you love trucks.”
Nicholas stared down at it as Taylor wiped his eyes.
I felt my own eyes watering. “What do you say, Nicholas?”
“Thank you, Uncle Taylor.”
“You’re welcome, buddy.”
“That was a really cool gift,” I told him after Nicholas ran off to play with the new toy. “I know how important your old Hot Wheels collection is.”
“Yeah, well, time to pass the torch.”
That warmed my heart. As an only child, I loved that Nicholas had a big brother. “Thank you for being so sweet to him.”
“Well, I have even more reason to bond with him now, don’t I?”
I lowered my voice. “We haven’t told him about you being Tate’s son, too. We wanted to make sure you were ready.”
He nodded. “I do want him to know.” Taylor thought for a moment. “He understands now that my father is his dad?”
“We explained it only recently. We weren’t sure what he remembered from the hospital. They’ve gotten close. Especially after the accident, Tate just needed him to know.”
Taylor looked down into his mug. “I’m happy that Nicholas will have what I didn’t. He doesn’t deserve anything less.” He sighed. “It might not have seemed like it at first, but I’m happy he found his dad.”
I smiled, though I still felt sad. “Your friendship has meant so much to me over the years. I hate to see you unhappy because of my decisions.”