I glance down at my blue T-shirt, which is paired with red jogging shorts, black socks, and brown loafers. Sue me. My feet were cold.
But he has a point. I’ve let myself go. In college, I could go for days working on code and never come up for air, but I’m an adult now with more self-respect than this. “You’re right. Give me thirty minutes to shower.”
Once I’ve knocked off three layers of scum from my teeth, I stare at the dark circles under my eyes in the mirror. Working until I make myself sick isn’t going to change anything. Daisy is gone.
I grab the edges of the counter and lower my head toward the sink. But what choice did I have? If I didn’t pay Heather off, she would have done everything in her power to destroy Daisy. And if I’d begged her to come clean to her parents, the result would have been the same. She would have had to drop calculus. Lost a semester of school. Potentially lost her ability to go to medical school. And let’s not forget she’d have been banished from her family.
Hey, I love you. Give up all your dreams for me.That would have been a total dick move.
I inhale, straighten, and resign myself to misery. All-night coding sessions. And cold food. Minus the unrefrigerated noodles.
When I return to the living room, the place is picked up, and Sean is lounging on the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table. “You look human again.”
“Thank you.” I flop onto the cushion at the other end and mimic his pose. “I feel better.”
“Haven’t heard from her?”
I rake a hand through my hair while swallowing over the lump in my throat. “No. I’m sure she’s busy finishing the school year and prepping for medical school.” I shrug. “She would have been too busy for a relationship anyway. Medical school is a lot of pressure.”
He arches his eyebrows. “Does that help you sleep better at night?”
“Does it look like I’m sleeping?”
“No.” He gives me a half chuckle in response. “No, it doesn’t. You don’t have to kill yourself to get ahead. In a few years, we’ll surpass the net worth of your father’s company.”
“I’m not killing myself for that reason.” I sink deeper into the cushions. The second Heather left my office, I set my father straight. I’m done doing his bidding. I resigned and walked away without looking back. And I have no regrets about that decision.
The bright light from the ceiling fan singes my eyeballs. When did he turn the lights back on? I smash my eyelids back down to block out the offending stimulus.
“What are you going to do about her?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not going to work. She graduates in a few weeks. There’s no reason you can’t be together then. So, there might be a few waggled eyebrows, but you were ready to face that before. Why aren’t you now?”
“Because Heather….”God, that makes me sound like a pussy.“Daisy told me to leave.”
“Because you were an asshole and broke up with her.”
I flop my head to the side and open one eye. “You’re an asshole.”
“Yes, I am. I understand your reasons for ending things with her, but you didn’t stop to ask her what she wanted. You told her what you were going to do and treated her like a child who couldn’t make up her own mind. Maybe you should have asked her what she wanted. You gave up everything for her. Except you had to sacrifice her. What if she didn’t want you to? What if she wanted you to keep her?”
“And maybe I shouldn’t have gotten shitfaced and told you everything,” I growl more to myself than to him. Because he’s right. I didn’t let her talk. I told her what to do. I sit up and drop my feet onto the carpet.
Is there a way to have it all? I refuse to do anything to jeopardize her future, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together in the future. The same as we planned. Unless she hates my guts for treating her like a ten-year-old instead of a grown woman with feelings.
Fuck.My eyes roll back into my head. If I’d tried to fuck everything up, I couldn’t have done a better job. He’s right. I should have fought for her. For us. And to hell with everyone else. Because she’s mine and has been since she stumbled into me at the wedding reception.
I pop my eyes open and sit upright. So, what if she must go to a different medical school. Or her father is pissed. Like he’d stay mad. In two weeks, I’ve made more money than I have in the last three years. Her father is not an idiot. We’re good together, and I can buy off whoever I need to make sure she gets what she wants. She’ll get her degree and have the career she deserves.
“You’re right. I’ve acted like a pussy. I wanted what was best for her, but that’s me. I’m what’s best for her. She went from not being able to stand up for herself to being able to stand up to everyone except her father. It’s time she did that, too. And I’ll be there to cheer her on.
“Good for you, man. It’s time you dug your balls out of your purse.”
“Fuck you.” I flip him off and launch off the sofa. “Let’s get a beer.”
Chapter Forty-Six