Having talked to my boyfriend about it, I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to find my father. Garrick knows the background story now. How Mom had no contact details for my dad and how uncooperative the Navy was when she reached out to them. All she knew was his first name and the date his ship was docked in Seattle. The Navy agreed to forward some letters she wrote, but we have no proof if he ever received them. Or maybe he did, and he chose not to contact her. To this day, we don’t know.
It’s not that I need him in my life, but I need to understand if he even knows about me. I don’t want this unresolved question to hang over me my entire life, so I’m taking proactive steps to find answers I need.
I haven’t told Mom yet. I know she wouldn’t stop me from trying to locate him, but I’m not sure how it will make her feel. Dragging this history up again might upset her, so I decided not to say anything unless the results showed a connection.
Garrick gave me the strength to pursue this, and I probably wouldn’t have done it without his support and encouragement.
I could not ask for a better boyfriend.
He is so devoted—showing up regularly with my favorite coffee and pastries from Bumble Bees, always making time to grab lunch or a coffee on campus during the day, and escorting me to and from work when his schedule permits it. Every Friday, he shows up to drive me to work at the bar, and he always has wine and flowers for me.
He constantly showers me with love and affection, and I try to do the same. Getting up early on weekends to bake him his favorite cookies and cupcakes. Battling the annoying groupies every Saturday night to support him at his gigs. Cooking him meals, giving him massages, and running him baths when his old back injury flares up and he’s in pain, and sucking his dick like a motherfucking pro. Garrick loves my blowjobs, and it’s our mutual favorite way to let off steam.
I know I’m lucky to have found him. That we’re lucky to have found one another. I appreciate him so much, and my life is much happier having him in it.
But the intensity of my feelings for him, and his for me, still scares me. This is all new, and I don’t want to rush into anything. I don’t see the need. We are still young, and we have our whole lives ahead of us.
Right now, I’m enjoying spending time with him, being in love, and managing to focus on my relationship while not sacrificing my goals. I’m not sorry to be proven wrong about distractions or that Garrick has opened my eyes to possibilities. I’m content, and I don’t need anything else. Except for him to be content going at this pace and not to push for more before we’re both ready.
“Earth to my sunshine.” He tips my face up, fixing me with a crooked grin. “Where’d you go, babe?”
“Sorry. I just zoned out.”
“Please don’t worry.” He laces his fingers in mine as he leads me toward the passenger side of his Range Rover. “I promise it’ll be fine. I will be by your side the entire time, and I’ll keep Mom in check if she gets out of line. Winston too, if he acts his usual asshole self.”
“I just want to make a good impression, and first ones count.” I glance down at myself. “Are you sure this is fancy enough?”
I’m guessing his mom’s house is some big posh mansion, and from what Mom’s told me, she is always dressed to the nines, so I put extra effort into today. I don’t want to let Garrick down. But I don’t have the money for expensive dresses or jewelry or matching bags and shoes. I splurged on a designer dress I found on sale in a department store in Seattle. It’s a patterned A-line black silk dress with gorgeous purple, green, and white flowers all over it. It has long sleeves and a deep vee at the front. While it showcases cleavage, it’s classy. It stops just under my knee, and my legs look long and slim in my skyscraper black heels. Nana loaned me her emerald necklace, and Mom loaned me her black Gucci purse. Hadley helped me with my hair and makeup, and I feel great. However, I still worry my efforts will fall short of Ivy Allen-Golding-Smith’s exacting standards.
“Baby, you’re perfect. You couldn’t be any more beautiful if you tried. She will love you. She just hasn’t had a chance to get to know you yet.”
I wish it were as simple as that.
Garrick’s naivety when it comes to his mother is a weakness but one I can’t fault him for. He’s a good son. A good boyfriend. And today I’m going to do my absolute best to turn his mother around.
For him.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Stevie
My eyes are bugging out of my head as we drive through high wooden gates and along a winding gravel driveway, bordered by mature trees and colorful shrubs on both sides, heading toward the extravagant property looming in the near distance. A shocked gasp escapes my lips when we round the bend and the house comes into full view.
I was partly right in my assumption, but calling this palatial home a ‘posh mansion’ is doing it a disservice. Positioned at the bottom of the driveway, surrounded by tall trees and landscaped lawns on either side, is a vast, highly impressive modern two-story building, comprising various outhouses and side structures, and constructed mainly of glass and gray stone. Different size vaulted roofs highlight a myriad of solar panels, and it’s clear no expense has been spared on this property.
It's like something you’d see in a celebrity magazine, and my nerves are presently jumping through the roof.
“Breathe, babe,” Garrick murmurs, helping me out of the car.
“This place is something else.” My eyes are out on stalks as I try to drink it all in.
He shrugs, taking the flowers from my hand. “It’s just a house.” Only someone who has grown up surrounded by this kind of wealth could be so flippant. I like that Garrick isn’t flashy, but it’s possible a little reality check is needed now and then.
I hug the cake carrier to my chest as we walk up the steps toward the entrance door. Before we’ve had time to knock, the door swings open, and a stately gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair bows his head and steps to one side. “Mr. Allen. Do come in. Your mother is expecting you in the rear living room.”
Garrick grasps my free hand firmly in his as we enter the hallway of his mom’s home, stalling until the man in uniform has closed the front door and urged us to follow him. Butterflies float anxiously in my belly as I realize I am completely out of my depth.
Garrick should have prepared me better.
