Twist of Fate (Taking Chances #2) - Tia Louise Page 0,58
a ten. “Want me to tell Daisy you stopped by?”
“Nah.” I take my change and head for the door. “Know when she’ll be back?”
“It’s pretty slow this time of year, but she’s open Monday to Friday.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back.”
I’ll be back if only to see her happy with my own eyes. Who am I kidding? I want to see who the fuck this Chad guy is and make sure he’s not a total asshole. I want to know he makes her smile.
I need to know she’s not mine.
Twenty
Daisy
“A million dollars?” Sly’s blue eyes are wide, and she laughs, bouncing on the queen-sized bed in our old room at Aunt Regina’s BnB. “That’s amazing!”
“One point five. Can you believe it?” I’m across from her in the yellow chair that always reminds me of Scout, even if it hurts. “I mean, it’s not enough to live on the rest of my life, but still.”
“It makes you pretty damn comfortable!” She does another cheer then rubs her face. “My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.”
My chest hurts when I think about my dad and the way I misjudged him. “I wish I hadn’t complained so much when Dad was alive. I was as bad as mom saying all he cared about was his work. The whole time he was planning this… this legacy. I feel so ungrateful now.”
“You’re not ungrateful to want your father’s attention. He should have found a better work-life balance. You don’t have to neglect your family to make money.”
My cousin is so protective. I give her a weak smile. “I don’t think he knew what work-life balance meant. He did the best he could, but he was born in another time.”
“At least he knew how to make money.” She tosses a royal-blue velvet pillow at me, and I catch it easily, turning it in my hands.
The room falls quiet, and I swallow the tightness in my throat. “It’s time, Sly.”
Her brow furrows. “Time for what?”
“It’s time to tell Scout.” Breathing through the tension in my chest, I focus on my fingers smoothing the pillow. “Having this money changes everything. I don’t need anything from him. I’m doing fine taking care of Melody by myself. I’m going to fly to L.A. and tell him about her.”
“Finally!” She falls back on the bed. “I can’t believe you listened to Evil Becky in the first place.”
“It wasn’t that—or not just that.” I trace my nails along the velvet. “Becky is a horrible, bitter person, but she was right. If I’d told him when I had nothing and he had nothing, and it was a choice between doing the right thing or pursuing his dream…” My voice dies out as I think about how that might have gone. “If he’d given it all up to be with me, I’d never know if it was real or if he did it out of a sense of obligation.”
“How is any of that different now?” My cousin watches me from the bed.
“It’s completely different now.” I put the pillow on the floor, meeting her eyes. “Now it doesn’t matter what he does. Now I don’t need help or money or anything.”
“You don’t need anything?” Her voice is quiet, and I blink away as pain flashes in my chest.
Sly can read me like a book, but I won’t let her deter me.
“No.” My voice is equally quiet but determined. “I’ll let him know she exists, and he can be as involved as he’d like to be.”
My cousin exhales heavily as she falls back on the bed. “Talk about a charmed life! He gets off scot-free after you’ve done all the heavy lifting?”
“I don’t see it that way.” Studying my hands, I exhale slowly. “I love Melody, and I love being her mom. It’s not heavy lifting, it’s our life.”
“Will you at least make him pay child support?”
Her question makes me cringe. “We’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I don’t want to fight with him.”
God, I’m such an idiot. What I don’t say is I love him. I’ve never stopped loving him. I want him to take one look at her and me and fall in love with us. I want him to tell me he’ll come home with us… I’d even be happy if he wanted to find a way for us to be there with him, although I don’t know if I’d want that.
I realize all of this makes me sound like a romantic fool, so I don’t say it out loud. It’s just