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My cheeks burn as he gives a disgusted huff. “That lot was a residential area that had been on the island for the last forty years. But I suppose Silas always was the greedy type.”
“Shame we didn’t see it sooner,” Mom pipes up. “I’ll never forgive that bastard for trying to bring that luxury property mess to Augustine. He knew how sacred that land was to the locals—to us—and he damn well knew they’d never agree to it.”
I clutch my fork as memories bubble up like the acid roiling in my stomach.
The day that our fathers called their project quits, Logan lay with me in that damn barn. The one surrounded by those stupid, vibrant flowers that still remind me of him.
He was going to transfer to Stanford and graduate with me.
He was going to marry me, but only if I promised not to wear white.
He was going to build my dream home and make me a mother because he was adamant I’d be beautiful with a big, round belly, and I wanted that for us more than anything. The kind of happiness only found neatly tucked inside forever.
Then he slid his grandmother’s ring on my finger, and when he sealed those promises with a deep, tender kiss, I believed him with every beating fiber in my heart.
“It’s all water under the bridge now,” Dad says, waving a dismissive hand. “As long as he keeps far away from us, I’m happy.”
Definitely won’t be telling him about my little run-in with Logan, then.
The server brings our meals to the table, and Carrie side-eyes me when Dad asks for updates about my job at KlearComm—the one his name alone helped me get, and suddenly, I’ve lost my appetite.
Carrie swore not to tell them about our current living situation, but she’s not budging on her claim that they would understand.
After all that excitement he showed earlier, I’m hesitant to offer myself up on the chopping block. Still, it would be nice to come clean about it all.
It’s a risk, but in a desperate attempt to connect with them, I test the waters with a bit of honesty. “Actually, I-I don’t work for KlearComm anymore.”
Haven’t worked there for years—not that I’m going to tell him that.
The table falls eerily silent, with only the sounds of birds chattering and machines at Silas’s construction site whirring, clinking, and banging in the background.
Dad’s doing that thing he does where he pauses, choosing his words carefully. He sets his mug on the table and says, “No, that can’t be right. What could pay better than a position with one of the top-grossing communication companies on the island?”
My palms start to sweat when Mom sits forward, brows pinched with concern. “What happened?”
Carrie threads her pinky finger around mine under the table, offering a touch of reassurance that I gobble up like a starving child.
“I guess I just wasn’t happy.”
Dad tilts his head, genuinely perplexed. “Penelope. You can’t quit your job just because you’re unhappy.”
He says it so matter of fact—as if he can’t fathom not working day in and day out, or throwing his heart and soul into a majorly successful corporation like Triggerz. It’s his life’s purpose, and that’s great. Love that for him. But he doesn’t understand where I’m coming from because he doesn’t see the big, fat, glaring difference between the two of us.
I don’t have a purpose.
Mom places a hand on his shoulder, then flicks her wary gaze toward me. “I bet you’ve got a great new job, don’t you, honey?”
At each of their probing stares, I take a steadying breath, ready to unload every dirty detail, but instead, I opt for swiping a cheese biscuit from the basket on the table and cram it into my mouth like a squirrel.
Carrie’s palm connects with her forehead, followed by a collective groan from my parents, who immediately start talking over each other, not waiting for an explanation before throwing their opinions at me like darts.
Mom’s claiming I need stability ‘at my age’ and offering to move me back home to Augustine, while Dad’s going on about getting a long-term career where I can put the degree they paid for to use. I sit back, taking each blow to my fragile ego as I swallow the wad of dry biscuit in silence.
I know they don’t mean to gang up on me, but despite their concern coming from a place of love, their faithlessness in me still hurts.
Come work for me, Logan’s voice whispers in the wind.
Fuck you. Get out of my head.
