Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,86
Everyone catered to Selena. It was the job of most people in her life to do so.
“People, including men, do help me and make my life easier, sure. But I choose to believe that in a relationship, the couple—both parties—should look out for each other.”
“No one’s ever taken care of me,” Leslie said, before she could stop herself. Unfortunately, she’d just realized how true that was. Dawson had never treated her like other girls—he didn’t open doors or pull out chairs for her the way he did for his mother or other female friends. He’d never really checked on her to make sure she was okay after a stressful workday, knowing she could handle the emotional toll of the job. When she was sick, she made her own damn soup.
And she hadn’t minded being independent. Right?
Selena was looking at her like she’d grown another face.
“What?”
“No one takes care of you because you don’t need anyone to take care of you. You take care of everyone else. It’s your thing. You’d probably punch someone if they even tried to imply you needed help or protection.”
“You’re probably right about that, but it would still be nice if someone at least wanted to risk the punch in the face.” Why had she admitted that? She wasn’t insecure or soft. She wasn’t actively looking for someone to share her life with... Was she? Was she ready to move on?
Selena raised an eyebrow. “I think Levi would be up for it.”
Leslie shook her head quickly. “That’s, um...nothing’s happening between Levi and me.” She’d pushed him away earlier that day for his sake. She was a mess. Her life was a mess. Things had gone too far and now the best thing for them both was for her to shut down again.
Selena turned on the couch to face her. “Look, if you want to push everyone else away, that’s okay. But I think you should reconsider on that one.”
Too close. She was letting the star get too close, too involved in her personal life, but it seemed far too late now. Selena had played a part in her and Levi’s igloo dinner date and she’d witnessed what had been going on the last few days. “Things are complicated.”
“Hello. When is love not complicated?” She gestured toward the stack of DVD cases on the coffee table.
“That’s not real.”
“Okay, well, let’s hear your version of this complicated real love.”
God, she really didn’t want to get into this. Selena didn’t need to know about her past. But she was staring at her expectantly. “Fine. The woman who was in here—Mrs. Powell? She’s Dawson’s mother.”
Selena nodded. “Right...”
“And Dawson was my fiancé,” she said, quickly.
Selena’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. I thought there might be more to that story, but I never expected you to actually tell me.” She paused. “And his mother—she didn’t like you?”
“Not particularly.”
“But you’re so delightful,” Selena’s tone was teasing and Leslie gave a small laugh.
“She didn’t think I was good enough for him. They are super wealthy and my family is just average, middle class...” Dawson’s parents had struggled to have a child. Dawson had been the result of years of in vitro and fertility treatments. Mrs. Powell always referred to him as her miracle baby and basically worshipped him.
“That shouldn’t have mattered.”
“But it did.”
“Did it matter to Dawson?” Selena asked softly.
Leslie shook her head. “Not at all. Dawson had lived a privileged life, traveling all over the world. He’d had the best of everything, but he shared it with his friends.” She smiled, one particular memory returning. “He once told his parents that he was joining the junior hockey team just so they’d buy him all the gear, then he gave it to the poorest, but most talented kid on the team. When his parents found out, they donated thousands to the league to make sure all the kids who wanted to play got the chance.”
“Wow—that was sweet. So, charity runs in the family,” Selena said, her own voice clouding with emotion.
“No one in his family loved the idea of him going into the police force. Not when he could have gone to any university, followed any path, but I joined the force and he decided it was what he wanted as well.”
At the academy, they’d pushed one another to be better, work harder... They’d grown even closer in that year and by the time they’d graduated, she knew he was the man she wanted to spend her life with.