I Have Lived and I Have Loved - Willow Winters Page 0,186

skin if you’re going to get serious with him.” She sighs. “I don’t want to scare you, but I do want you to be prepared. Eli truly cares for you, believe me, I’ve never seen him like this. He may not understand this side of dating a famous person, but I do. I’ve been called horrible names, had photos photoshopped to make me look fat, and seen stories upon stories of Randy cheating.”

“You don’t think I can handle it?” I’ve wondered the same. I think back to the jogger and how uncomfortable I felt with her touching him. That isn’t even what Savannah is talking about.

“I don’t doubt you can if you want to. I’m sure there are awful things said about you being a female cop, right?”

I laugh. “You have no idea.”

“Well, amplify that by a thousand. In the beginning, it’ll be bad, but then it’ll calm down. Just be ready, be on guard, and seriously don’t listen to anything they say. It’s truly disgusting the way the media portrays us, how people get a sick joy in watching famous people flounder. They will actually root for you and Eli to fail. Drama sells, and everything is about money in this world.”

I hear the pain and disgust in her voice. She’s been living this for a long time and must’ve experienced a lot of hurt at people’s hands. “How do you deal with it?”

She looks out the window at her husband and smiles. “I love him. For better or worse, that man is my entire world. I deal with it because music is who he is.” Her eyes turn back to me. “It’s who Eli is, too. So, keep your head down and be open with each other. If you love him, he’s worth it.”

Without a shadow of a doubt, I know I love him. The mere thought of walking away from Eli is enough to make me want to cry. It could’ve been easier to fall in love with anyone else, but nothing in my life has been easy. I’ve had to bury my parents, my sister, endure a divorce, and been so broke I wasn’t sure I could afford to eat, so dealing with people hating me is a cake walk. Nothing will ever compare to the pain of losing my sister. If they want to hate me because I love him, then so be it.

He’s worth the risk, he’s worth it all.

Hours pass, and his mother takes the kids upstairs for baths. Eli, Savannah, Randy, and I have been playing rummy for the last hour. I’m kicking ass.

“Well,” Randy tosses his cards down as I win another round, “on that note. Heather is clearly a hustler.”

“Never!” I pretend to be offended.

“Liar.” He laughs and then turns to his brother. “Eli, you should search her for hidden cards.”

“Are you cheating, baby?”

My jaw drops. “I would never. I’m an officer of the law.” Savannah and I have been passing each other cards under the table.

His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t refute me. I watch him look over at Savannah, and he yells. “I knew it! You little cheats!”

Savannah bursts out laughing, and I follow. “You guys are so blind.”

“Unreal, Ran, we’ve been played by our women.”

Randy smirks at his wife and kisses her. “She’s been playing me since we were kids.”

“Mommy!” Daria comes running in wearing her pajamas, her hair still dripping from her bath. “Will you read me a story?”

Savannah hoists her daughter up and gives an apologetic smile. “It’s that time, Randall.”

“We’re going to hit the road.”

“Don’t be a stranger, you’re welcome here anytime,” Savannah says and pulls me in for a hug. “He doesn’t need to be present, we don’t like him much anyway.”

Eli snorts and then we all say our goodbyes.

Today was a day I’ll never forget. It was a family welcoming me without knowing me at all. I had worried before that meeting Eli’s family would remind me that I was alone in the world, but instead, it showed me the opposite. Once again, Eli provided me with something I didn’t even have to ask for.

Chapter 23

Heather

“I don’t fucking care, then fire me!” Eli yells into the receiver. “Film what you can without me. I’m not leaving Tampa until I’m damn good and ready.” The phone falls to the floor, and he grips his hand. “Fuck!”

I move over quickly as he presses his thumb to his palm. “You okay?” I ask as I pick up the phone. He winces in pain, shaking out