Chapter 16 #3
Until she what? Until she came here? Until she met me? Until what ?
“No one has the right to tell you who you should be or what you should do with your life. Not even your father. You’re allowed to leave.
If that’s what you want, go ahead. Slam the door if it means you can finally find out who you are.
” I press my hand to her chest, right above her heart. “Who you really are in here.”
Carl’s kids race past us again, laughing and shouting.
Zoey watches them with a half smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Eventually, she dips her chin, picking around her nails.
I slide my hand in hers, stopping the nervous habit, and stroke her skin. She needs to know she’s not alone.
“For so long, this company has been my whole life,” she says.
“I don’t know who I am without it. That’s all I’ve done, day and night.
For over a decade. Work, work, work.” She shakes her head, a bitter laugh escaping her.
“I’m not even close to forty yet, and I’m having a full-blown existential crisis in the middle of a fundraiser. ”
Cupping her jaw, I meet her eyes again. “It’s okay.
You don’t have to put on a happy face all the time.
” I don’t tell her she’s pretty terrible at faking it anyway.
“It’s a fucking lot to put on your shoulders.
Have all the crises you want, anywhere you want.
I’ll be right here next to you, holding you up so you can break down. ”
Her eyes glint in the soft lights, and for a second, I worry she’s about to cry. “What’s it like?” she whispers. “Knowing you have people who will always be there for you?”
A heavy ache settles in my chest. Nobody deserves to be this alone.
“It’s like constantly having a safety net beneath you. It’s being able to fuck up and knowing your people won’t define you based on your mistakes. It’s being accepted for who you are. And you, Zoey, are so much more than your dad’s version of you.”
How is it that some parents can’t accept their kids as they are?
Why do so many of us feel pressured into being a version that fits their expectations?
The parallels between Zoey and her dad and Daph and Mom make me want to share everything with her.
Show her that I understand what she’s going through.
But this is not the place or time.
Later.
When we’re alone and I have a moment to breathe, I’ll crack open the door to my personal life and talk to Zoey about Daphne, tell her how the world has treated my sister.
She trusted me with this part of her tonight, and I want to give her a piece of me too. Even if I’m terrified to bare myself to a woman again.
I stroke her cheek, and her eyes flutter shut. My gaze drifts to her lips, and for a second, I have this wild urge to kiss her. For real.
Gently, I trace her cheek again, my thumb trailing the flush down to her bottom lip. Her soft inhale brushes the tip of my finger, sending an electric current through me.
I press deeper, only stopping when her lips part.
The world narrows to her.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I whisper. The words shouldn’t be loud enough for her to hear, and yet she does.
“Don’t think. Do it.”
I lean in, so close her breath blends with mine. I can almost taste the pillowy softness of her lips on mine, but just before they meet mine, I’m yanked back.
A loud squeal in my ear makes me wince. “Matt! Finally. I’ve been trying to find you all night. Look at the two of you, all cozied up at the bar.”
The bubble bursts, and with a record scratch, the whole room resumes its normal pace.
I drop the hand still cupping Zoey’s face, and when I tear my gaze away from her, I’m met with a mass of frizzy blond curls.
“Patty, hi,” I say flatly. “How’s it going?”
She squeezes my arm too tightly, her long, sharp nails poking uncomfortably against my shirt. “Better now that you’re here,” she purrs. Her eyes flick from me to Zoey. “Hi, I’m Patty.”
“Zoey. Nice to meet you,” she replies in a polite tone.
“Ah, right.” Patty snaps her fingers. “The hotel girl, right?”
“She’s the head of development for her company,” I say, pulling her to my side and looking into her eyes. “And my date for tonight.”
“Oh.” Patty’s face falls for a second, but she quickly breaks into a phony smile, her pupils gleaming in a way that makes my insides twist. “Are you still participating in the bachelor auction?”
I dip my chin. “I am.”
“I’ll see you later for my reward, then, Matty.” She drawls my name and winks, whirling around as she leaves.
“That’s… Patty?” Zoey asks, following the woman as she sashays through the crowd.
Hand at the back of my neck, I blow out a breath. “Yeah.”
She hums. “She’s younger than I expected. You didn’t mention she has a huge crush on you.”
I quirk a brow, my lips stretching into a smirk. “Jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“I’m not,” she retorts quickly, this time avoiding my gaze.
Hands lifted in surrender, I give her my most winning smile. “Okay, then. But if you were, know that you’d have no reason to be. Patty literally crushes on anything that moves and breathes. I’m not that special.”
On the stage, Cooper taps the mic a few times. “Hello, hello, folks. Grab your paddles and take a seat. The auction will start in a few minutes.”
I turn to Zoey. “I should get going. You’ll be okay on your own?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She pushes onto her tiptoes and laces her arms around my neck. “I’ll see you when I come to claim my prize,” she says, then drops a quick kiss on my cheek.
The truth is, I don’t want anyone but Zoey to bid on me tonight. And that thought scares the shit out of me.