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I nodded. “I will.”
I would talk to her, no matter how difficult it might be. I loved her too much to let our relationship fall apart because of a lack of communication. It had taken way too long to get to this point. I needed to step back into friend mode and be the man she could talk to about anything, and not the boyfriend.
I left the bar, feeling a sense of hope. This was the first hiccup in our relationship. We’d be fine. We loved each other. Our fathers were trying to break us up, but we didn’t have to let it happen. Which reminded me. I pulled out my phone to see if my dad replied to my last text. There was nothing. Either he got the message and was going to back off, or he was pissed and plotting his next move.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Emmy
My fingers flew over the keyboard. I was on a roll. The words were flying out of my head and onto the screen. The story was flowing. I was excited to finally have a groove. When I was writing, I didn’t have to think about the other stuff.
I wrote until my phone rang, pulling me out of the moment. I glanced over and saw it was Izzy. “Hi,” I answered. “Are you back? Do you have a job?”
She groaned. “No. I’ve got enough money to last me another two months. I have to get a job.”
“You will,” I assured her.
“You called yesterday when I was in yet another horrible interview. What’s up?”
I called to tell her about what my mother said about Luke only being with me because my father told him to. Now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell anyone. It was embarrassing. But Izzy would tell me everything was okay, and it was all nonsense. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else,” I said hesitantly.
“What is it?” Izzy asked, concern in her voice.
“It’s about Luke…” I began, my voice trailing off.
“What about him?” she prompted.
I took a deep breath. “My mother thinks that he’s only with me because my father told him to. She thinks my dad is paying Luke to be with me to keep an eye on me.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Izzy spoke again. “That’s ridiculous,” she said firmly. “Luke is with you because he loves you, not because anyone told him to be.”
“That’s what I told her, but she told me I needed to consider the timing of his sudden interest in me,” I said. “And when I think about it like that, he did suddenly develop feelings for me shortly after I moved out of my dad’s house.”
“I don’t think there was anything sudden about those feelings,” she said. “Were your feelings for him sudden?”
“No, but you don’t think it’s just a little odd he decides he loves me after all this time?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s odd at all. You’re the one who told me you guys have never really been single at the same time. This is your time. The feelings had to evolve and grow to this point. I don’t think your living situation had anything to do with it.”
I heard what she was saying, and I wanted to believe it, but there was just an odd feeling I couldn’t shake. “You don’t think it’s weird he wanted me to move in with him a day after we had sex for the first time?”
She laughed. “I would take that as a compliment. You must be really good.”
“I am.” I grinned.
“Maybe it does have something to do with you not living with your dad anymore,” she said. “Do you think he was hesitant to ask you out because your dad would have squashed him if he did?”
“Hmm, that’s a good point,” I agreed. “I know neither of our fathers is thrilled with the idea of us being together. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was told to stay away from me.”
“Exactly!” she exclaimed. “See! Your mom is wrong. Besides, isn’t Luke rich?”
“He’s not doing too badly for himself.” I laughed as I looked around the luxury apartment.
“Then, we don’t think he’s following your dad’s orders?” she asked.
“I guess not,” I replied, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. “But it’s still embarrassing to hear my mother say something like that.”
“I can imagine,” Izzy sympathized. “But don’t let it get to you. What your mother thinks doesn’t matter. What matters is how you and Luke feel about each other.”
