My mom’s smile grows. “Yes. Exactly. You’reyou. And I’m so grateful for that.”
I blink several times, trying to get my emotions under control. “You’re biased. You have to love me no matter what.”
My mom laughs. “And what’s their excuse?”
My eyes ping over to Lumi and Todd. To Trevor. My heart thumps as Trevor’s gaze catches mine, the tiniest smile on his face like an automatic switch.
Oh shit.
My mom squeezes my arm again, her laughter soft at whatever expression I’m wearing. The ringing of my phone is a welcome distraction…
Until I pull it free and see the name on the screen.
The call goes to voicemail, but I make a split-second decision before pressing redial and standing. “Excuse me,” I tell my mom, heading for the front door. I steel myself as I step outside, the air warm enough today that I don’t need a jacket.
My dad answers quickly. “Isaac, I wasjust—”
“Don’t start,” I cut in, the satisfaction I feel at rendering my dad speechless short-lived. My nerves return in full force, even as I know this needs to be done. Even as I know it’s right. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say to me.”
He makes an affronted sound. “What on earth—”
“How many boyfriends have I lost because of you?”
My dad once again goes quiet. “Isaac…”
“Do you have a tally? Or is it unimportant enough to you that you don’t even remember?”
He blows out a heavy breath. “I just want what’s best for your future.”
My laugh is incredulous. “No you don’t. Stop lying to yourself. And stop calling. No more checks, no more fancy dinners, none of it. I don’t want you in my life anymore.”
“Isaac, you’re being—”
“Don’t you dare tell me I’m being irrational. You…” I suck in a breath, pissed to feel tears lining my eyes. I blink every one of them away. “You don’t get to sabotage my life and call it love. It’s not. I could deal with the rest of it. I really could. Your disapproval, trying to push me into a business I had no interest in, parading me around like you give a shit. But the second you tried to buy the man I love—”
My voice cracks, and I suck in another breath, my lungs aching. There’s silence at the other end of the line, the tension heavy before I cut into it again.
“I don’t want a single thing more from you. I’ve had enough.”
I hang up without waiting to see if my dad has any excuses to offer. I have no doubt I’ll hear from him again, but I block his number regardless.
Trevor finds me sitting on the front steps a few minutes later. He lowers himself next to me, his presence warm and solid, his hands clasped together between his knees. I watch thosehands for a moment, ink over fingers that have been nothing but gentle with me, the man the same.
He’s already looking my way when I bring my gaze up to his face.
I’m not a poet like him. I don’t ever seem to have perfect words, and expressing myself in the first place has never been easy. But I still try.
Because he deserves it.
“When I think about my perfect place, it’s a library,” I tell him softly. “Maybe because I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, and books have always been…approachable. I don’t know. But I always felt safe there, even inside my own head. And for as long as I can remember, the library looked exactly the same.”
Trevor watches me curiously. Quietly.
I puff out a tiny breath before going on. “It’s looked different lately. There’s this guy there that never used to be inside my dream library. He takes up a lot of space, but I don’t mind. I actually like it a lot. Because he’s comfortable to be around, and he makes me feel…safe. The same way my books do. I think… I think I love this man. And that scares me a lot. Because dreams don’t always come true. And reality?God. Sometimes it sucks.”
Trevor’s slowly spreading smile makes my heart skip a beat.
“Say something,” I beg. “Please.”
