Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,94
matter of time before he realized it too.
After he seemed to have time to process the new information, he sat back up and wrapped his arms around me. I immediately relaxed into him, wanting to enjoy the last few moments I had before it was all taken from me.
“It doesn’t change anything for me,” he whispered softly.
“How can it not?” I asked through my tears.
“I won’t lie, I hate it. I hate it so much that it makes my stomach turn when I think of you with him. I don’t think I’d be human if that weren’t true.” He stopped talking for a second and then moved my hair so he could kiss my shoulder. “You have to understand, though, when I look at you…I just see you…nothing else. And I’m in love with you. I don’t care about your past. I see who you are becoming.” His voice was soft and I felt like his words were caressing every inch of my soul.
That day with Parker had been the most amazing of my life, and even though I felt physically drained when he walked me to my door, I was more emotionally sure than I had ever been in my life. He kissed me goodbye with all the tenderness I had come to love about him, and I shut the door.
Jake was on the couch, sleeping, and I looked at him resting peacefully. He still looked strangely confident and vulnerable at the same time, but different tonight, less enchanting somehow. I could see him clearly, without blinders, for the first time. I stepped quietly in my room. There was no confusion tonight.
“Lord, I pray that she will soar like the eagle’s wings and that you will enable her to stand on the heights…”
18. NEW YEAR’S
The day of the ball was finally here and I felt as giddy as a school girl. Issy was in her own frenzy, getting the apartment ready for the “epic” party she had planned for tonight. I helped her by vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen, although I couldn’t understand why she cared when her friends were just going to trash the place within fifteen minutes of getting there.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Issy? New Year’s parties have a bad habit of getting out of control,” I asked as we cleaned.
She gave me a disapproving look and scolded, “Avery, you are way too practical. I am the queen of party hosting; I practically do it all the time at other people’s apartment. This time I won’t have to go anywhere. Besides, it’s all apartment folks, so they will totally go home when it’s over.”
“Did you invite Danny and Aaron?” I asked hesitantly. Issy and I hadn’t discussed him in a while, but I’d run with him the other day and he seemed to be doing better.
Issy rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone. “You don’t want to go there. I’m still trying to decide how you are going to make this one up to me.” She handed me her phone and pressed play on the voicemail. The sound of Danny’s voice was heartbreaking. He was obviously drunk and slurring his words, and he went from yelling at her to telling her how much he cared about her.
I looked at Issy who had her eyebrow raised and was tapping her finger on the countertop. “That little message got him put right on the blocked caller’s list,” she said flatly. It amazed me that she could have no compassion for him at all. I shook my head and handed the phone back to her.
Minutes later, Jake was hauling in kegs with a dolly, and I cringed when I saw there were three of them. I felt grateful Issy’s family was wealthy because I had a bad feeling that this place was going to need some serious work in the morning.
I pulled off the latex gloves I was wearing, the fumes from the cleaning products starting to make me dizzy, and went to my room to go change. I needed to get a run in before Parker came to pick me up. It was a two and a half hour drive to the ball, and we were leaving at three-thirty to give us plenty of time to get there. Parker tried to explain all the military jargon and expectations to me, but it was way over my head. It all seemed to boil down to the fact that we couldn’t be late.