I closed my eyes, lifted my fingers, and began rubbing at my temples, trying to stave off the tension headache building behind my eyes. “Garrett….” I sighed.
Once again, I hadn’t heard him move. My eyes shot open at the feel of his rough, callused fingers beneath my chin. He tipped my head up and leaned in closely. “No more excuses,” he said quietly. “This’ll be good. You’ll see. You won’t regret this, Gwen.”
He’d never used that tone before, not on me at least—soft and gentle… soothing with a hint of pleading laced in the words. I was so hypnotized by his voice that I found myself nodding in agreement before I knew what I was doing.
“You good?” he continued, still speaking softly.
“Yeah,” I whispered in return.
“Keys.”
“Spare set is hanging on the hook by the front door.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow, baby.”
His gorgeous face came closer until it was the only thing I could see, and before I could ask what he was up to, he placed a kiss on my cheek, his plump lips brushing against the corner of my mouth.
I inhaled sharply in surprise, unable to speak as he stood tall and walked from my room, leaving me wondering one thing.
What the fuck have I just agreed to?
TEN
“I can’t believeyou’re doing this. You’ve officially lost your mind, babe. I’m considering have you committed.”
I peeked through my rearview mirror to make sure Liddy was still asleep and couldn’t hear Corrine’s voice through the car’s Bluetooth. After stopping at the apartment to check on progress, I’d found that Garrett had kept his word. The place looked like it had been empty for ages, and with all our stuff gone, I was able to see that it really was in bad shape. We’d swung by the management office to drop off the keys before heading to our new home—aka my new nightmare—and I’d been hit with another surprise when the landlord informed me that the remainder of what I owed on my lease had been paid. Thanks to Garrett, I owed nothing. I was scot-free to leave the only place Liddy and I had ever lived together.
I came to a stop at a red light and let out a frustrated breath. “You think I don’t know that? Temporary insanity is the only logical explanation for why I agreed to this. But even you have to admit that complex isn’t exactly the nicest.”
She went silent for several seconds, and I knew she knew I was right. “True,” she eventually relented.
“She misses him, Corrine,” I said in a soft voice. The light changed and I pressed down on the accelerator. “My relationship with him might be sketchy, but he means the world to Liddy. And he’s had a shitty way of expressing it these past three years, but she means the world to him too.”
“So you actually believed him when he said he wanted to do better by her?”
I understood the skepticism in her tone because I was struggling with it as well. “Maybe it makes me an idiot, but I really did, Corr. I’ve never seen him look so genuine before. It was… unsettling.”
Her derisive snort reverberated through the line. “I bet.”
We were almost at Garrett’s when Liddy began to stir in the back seat. “Look, we’re almost there and she’s starting to wake up. I’ll give you a call later when we’re settled in.”
“All right, babe. I love you. Just… be careful, okay?”
“I will. I promise. Love you too.” I hit the button on the steering wheel and disconnected the call as I turned onto Garrett’s street.
“Mommy, is we dere yet?”
“Almost, baby.” I gave her a shaky smile in the rearview mirror. The entrance to the driveway for the mansion came into view, sending a spike of nervous energy through my body. And it wasn’t just the fact that I’d be sharing breathing space with a man who made me jittery and insane for the foreseeable future that made me nervous.
Since Liddy was so young, Garrett hadn’t had overnight visitation yet. And to keep reporters and photographers from getting suspicious, most visitation took place in hotels so the band’s security team could better control the environment. The last time she’d been to Garrett’s house, she’d just turned two and napped through a large portion of that visit, so she wouldn’t remember much about it. A large part of me feared that Liddywould grow to love all the things that came with living with Garrett—things I’d never be able to afford to give her on my own.
When we rounded a curve in the drive, coming to a stop in front of the huge house, Liddy sucked in a sharp inhale of excitement at the sight of it, sending a pang of jealousy straight through my heart. It was irrational, but I couldn’t help it. “Wow,” she breathed, awe filling her little voice. “It’s like a princess castle! Is we gonna live here?”
“Yeah, monkey. This is where we’re going to live.” Resentment gnawed at my gut. I wanted to give my little monkey everything she wanted, but out of both her parents, Garrett was the only one with the means to do that. And no matter how childish it seemed, I wanted to be her favorite. Knowing that living in this grand house could possibly sway that made me feel like absolute shit. I hated myself for feeling like it was a competition between Garrett and me for Liddy’s affection, but no matter how much I tried to rationalize with myself, I couldn’t let go of that immature, adolescent mindset.
“It’s so purdy!” she shouted in glee while I threw the car in Park. “Ian!Ian!Mommy, look! It’s Ian!”
I turned and saw Ian come out the front door and head toward my car. “I see that, monkey.” I shut off the ignition, unbuckled, and climbed out. By the time I made it around to Liddy’s door, Ian was already there, pulling it open.
