I was a fixer. That was my thing. Bring me your poor, your unstylish, your damaged. Bodhi had been my perfect landscape— a man wounded just enough that fixing him would be my pleasure. But what I hadn’t counted on— what hadn’t been factored in to the final project —was, at the end of it all, I would be the one in need of therapy.
Mason was wrong. This was about more than just fearing rejection. It was about losing myself. Bodhi’s life sucked the energy right out of me. I could almost feel my anxiety rising to unhealthy levels. I couldn’t be the girl who cried after every encounter.
Loving Bodhi was one thing. I could do that effortlessly. What I couldn’t do was spend my life being pushed aside and sucked dry by outside forces beyond both of our control.
Mom only allowed me a minute of self-pity before pulling away. “Okay, now that you’ve had your cry, let’s find a solution, shall we?”
“There’s only one solution, Mom. I have to break up with Bodhi Beckett.”
22
Bodhi: An Unlikely Hero
The knock at the door came less than an hour after the neighbor boy sold Breeze out for a chance at some post-euphoric tail. Josh didn’t fool me. He was just in this to do the dance with no pants with as many girls as he could fit into his pimped-out Mercedes. It made me wonder what he got for his efforts aside from a swift kick in the ass from Betsy.
I know what it got me—a puffy-eyed girl who’d been avoiding me like I had an aggressive case of crabs since we stepped into the house. After two unexpected fan encounters, it was clear I couldn’t handle this alone. I needed help and, of course, the last person I wanted it from was the one person who knocked on the door.
Strangely enough, I knew who it was even before I heard his voice. For all the bitching and complaining I did about my father, he’d been the one constant in my life. Never far from my side, I could sometimes predict what he’d say or do before it even happened. And that was why I hadn’t been surprised by his sudden intrusion. It had been expected. After all, Tucker would have spared no expense finding me the minute I’d hung up the phone at Blubber Beach.
Still, I was impressed. He slid into home plate an impressive forty-eight hours later. Although, to be fair, the breadcrumb trail I’d left was the size of Connecticut. But still, to pinpoint my exact location was astute indeed. Sure he’d received a little help from TV and social media. Our freedom dash had made the local news as well as a variety of entertainment shows. A picture of Breeze and I escaping the horde was accompanied by the uber helpful news snippet, ‘Bodhi Beckett and unidentified female chased down in a Northern California coastal community by a stampede of female fans.’ Yep, with that valuable tidbit, it wouldn’t have taken a good investigator more than an hour to track me down.
“Tucker Beckett here. I’d like to see my son.”
Jesus, he made every greeting sound like an ultimatum. Even when he wasn’t trying, my father still came off like a douche. From my spot on the couch, I saw Terrance fidgeting in response to Tucker’s curt request. Poor guy. No doubt he rarely ran into uptight Hollywood dipwads who bossed him around in his own home. With my father no doubt dressed for success in his expensive business casual wardrobe, I wondered if Terrance was regretting his choice of the yellow Minion board shorts and wife beater combo right about now.
“Oh, um,” Terrance fumbled with his words before doing the worst thing possible if you were trying to conceal a fugitive… he turned and made eye contact with me, the runaway prisoner. Dude, come on!
That was all Tucker needed to overpower the situation.
“Bodhi!” His big, booming voice cut through the hallways of Breeze’s childhood home, ricocheting off every wall as it pierced my ears. “No more games. I need to see you now.”
I glanced in Breeze’s direction, trying to gage her reaction. She hadn’t been the same since being dropkicked into my world but, after last night, I thought I’d at least eased her worries some. Until the Josh incident stirred thing up all over again. I knew Breeze had feelings for me, but were they strong enough to weather my constant storm? It was a lot to ask of a person to give up their privacy for the sake of a guy she’d just met.
As I pushed off the couch, I checked Breeze’s phone for another message from Marni. We’d made plans to meet at six and, no matter what came out of Tucker’s mouth, I would not be missing my time slot.
Breeze grabbed my hand, locking eyes with me. Infusing me with strength.
“Relax, it’ll be fine,” I told her as I leaned in to steal a kiss. It was meant to be a quick peck, but Breeze cupped my cheek, holding the kiss for longer than expected.
Before I could fully appreciate the number it was doing on my insides, Tucker rounded the entry way and we came face to face for the first time in five days. His eyes darted to Breeze, confusion lining his brow.
Terrance stood off to the side, irritation flashing across his features for the first time since I’d met him. As usual, I was embarrassed by my father’s behavior. Looking every bit the urban professional with slicked back hair and a Bluetooth affixed in his ear, he wore his standard uniform— a fashion forward button down shirt and expensive slacks.
Betsy emerged from the back room, exchanging a whispered word with Terrance before she approached my father with an outstretched hand.
“Hello, I’m Betsy, Breeze’s mother.”
Tucker took her hand, flashing his winning smile before turning his attention back to my girl.
“And you are Breeze, I presume?”
Pushing to her feet, she smoothed her shiny hair before sliding her palm against my father’s. “Yes. Hello.”
“Sorry, but I’m a little confused about how the two of you met. Did you know each other previously?”
“No, Bodhi rescued me from the fire.”
Shock deluged Tucker’s features. “He did?”
