More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,101

father had that I’d never even met.

Jade had gone to the restroom and when she returned, there was a blanket draped over her arm. She pushed up on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, “Come on, Winslow. Let’s go sit on the beach.”

She always knew what I needed. Knew when I was retreating. And knew how to bring me back.

She spread the blanket out on the sand, and we both dropped down to sit. The waves crashed against the shore, and the sky was covered in shades of whites and grays, as the sun fought to make an appearance on this gloomy day.

“How do you feel?” she asked, running her fingers through my hair, and studying my face.

“I feel okay. I mean, I had a shit relationship with the man. So yeah, I’m disappointed we never got past it. I’m resentful that he sucked at being a father and made no effort to change that. And a part of me feels guilty for not knowing how to feel about him being dead. Right? He’s my father. He’s gone. And I don’t know if I’m sad or angry? That’s pretty fucked up.”

“That’s pretty honest, actually,” she said. “And the truth is, it’s okay to feel all of those things. Your dad made a lot of mistakes, Cruz. And just because he’s gone, it doesn’t lessen the damage that he did. So, it’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be disappointed. And the fact that you’re allowing yourself to feel all those things shows how far you’ve come. You don’t need to numb those feelings anymore. You just—process them. You hurt, and you grieve, and you move forward.”

“How’d you get so smart, More Jade?” I teased, leaning forward to kiss her.

Her hair was blowing in the breeze, and her black dress was puddled around her legs and her jade gaze locked with mine. “Not smart. Just honest.”

“Thanks for being here.”

“Nowhere else I’d want to be,” she said.

“You know this story is going to be in the press for weeks. I’m done with the band, and we have some time before you start medical school. I know we wanted to go to New York and get settled in our new place, but how would you feel about getting away? Just you and me. We could go to Europe for a few weeks. I’d love to show you France and London. Maybe go to Italy. Everything will be waiting for us back home after.”

There was no hesitation. “I’d go anywhere with you, Winslow. Let’s do it.”

I pulled her to sit on my lap and I wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder. We both stared out at the turquoise sea, as the waves crashed into the shore.

Time away with my girl was exactly what I needed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jade

I was all ready for the big day with a little time to spare. I pulled out Mom’s journal and sat back on the bed to read it.

August 10th

Dear Journal,

How am I a senior in college? What a journey, huh? As I’m getting ready for my first day of my last year of undergrad, I’m thinking back to my first day of class and everything that I wanted to accomplish. I did it all over the last three years, and I’m proud of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. And there have been all of those things. But here’s what I’ve learned. They are all necessary in this great thing called life. Jack and I have been through so much, and it’s taught me that you need to go through tough times to truly appreciate the good times. My love for this beautiful, stubborn, hard-working, smart, strong boy has shown me that. He’s my person. My best friend. The one I want to do life with. We’ve had our fair share of disagreements and we’ll have many more I’m sure. But there’s no one else I’d rather argue with, laugh with or give my heart to.

I’m ready for my senior year. Ready for the future. I’ve interned with the best and brightest in the industry, and I’ve held my own.