Chapter 34
34
Preston
B y the time I find a parking spot downtown near Elle’s salon, I’m running late for our lunch date. Or maybe I just wasn’t in a huge hurry to have to break the news to Elle about California. As much as I want to see my girl, I’m dreading her reaction.
Distracted, I round the corner of her building and run smack dab into someone else.
“Shit. Sorry,” I say before I see the face of who I just bulldozed—a blond man a few inches shorter than me, and smug as shit. “You!”
“Hi, Pres,” the asshole says while grinning at me. “Crazy running into you here of all places.”
I lift my eyes to the front of Elle’s salon, trying to figure out why he was coming out of it. It’s lunchtime. She doesn’t have customers right now. Even if she was cutting Christian’s hair she would’ve told me, wouldn’t she? Yes. Of course, she would have.
“Why the hell are you here bothering her?” I ask him.
“How do you know I was bothering her?”
“Because she can’t stand your ass after you hurt her.”
“Are you sure about that?” he replies. “Ellie seemed pretty happy to see me. We both know that she’s still not over me.”
“Bullshit.”
“We were together for five fucking months. How long have you two been pretending? Less than two weeks?”
“I’m not wasting my time on you, and I sure as hell won’t throw a punch in broad daylight that will land my ass in jail.”
With a chuckle, the prick walks around me, giving me a wide berth on the sidewalk. “Whatever you say, Pres.”
The roaring in my head is back like before by the time I stomp into Elle’s salon. She’s standing next to the row of chair with her purse on her shoulder, a distant look on her face.
“What was that asshole doing here?”
She blinks at me and there’s suddenly a storm brewing in her eyes. “Hello to you too, Preston.”
“Cut the shit, Elle. Just tell me what he wanted.”
She shrugs her shoulders as if the prick coming by isn’t a big deal before she replies. “He said he wants another chance, that he would stop messing around and buy me a ring if that’s what it would take to prove to me that I could trust him.”
Jesus Christ. He offered to propose to her? He’s so full of shit.
“And? What did you say?”
“What do you think I told him?” she asks, but I don’t even try to guess. “I told him I was with you now, and that there wasn’t a single thing he could do or say to change my mind.”
“You told him that?”
“Yes!”
“Good.”
“He also told me a few things about you and Maya.”
“What the fuck did he say?” I growl. “You didn’t tell him…”
She shakes her head. “No, of course I didn’t tell him about Finley. Do you think I would blurt out something as important as the fact that he has a four-year-old son?”
“No. Shit. I’m sorry for making the accusation.”
“You convinced Maya not to tell him she was keeping the baby, that he’s Finley’s father, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, caught off-guard by the sudden change of topic. One second, we were talking about her and Riley and now she brings in my sister and the asshole?
“Did you convince her to keep Christian away?” Elle repeats.
“Maya didn’t want anything to do with the prick after he gave her some money to make it all go away.”
“He said he tried to call her, text her, wanted to see her and go with her to the doctor, but you wouldn’t let him near her. He claimed he wrote her handwritten love letters.”
“That’s bullshit. There were no fucking love letters. He probably can’t even spell his own name.”
“Why would he lie?”
“Look, Elle, no offense, but this all happened years ago, and you weren’t there. Maya was a freshman in college. She had just turned nineteen, for fuck’s sake. She was devastated to be pregnant, to have our parents and Riley abandon her. I did everything I could to stop her from completely falling apart.”
“And you don’t think letting Christian be there during the pregnancy and after would’ve maybe helped her more than his absence hurt her?”
“Hell no! Riley is a selfish asshole. He only cares about himself. You know that better than anyone! That son of a bitch didn’t waste time signing a contract and leaving town, either. He didn’t give a shit about Maya.”
“I know that you feel guilty, that you blame yourself for introducing Christian and Maya, for trusting him to be careful with her.”
“I regret that every single day.”
“Do you think Maya regrets it, though?”
“Of course she does! He ruined her life. Dropping out of school was nothing compared to what she dealt with at home.”
“I know. You told me it was bad with your parents. And I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for her and for you.”
Choosing between my judgmental parents and my sister who needed me, was easy. I don’t regret it, even if it means shouldering the burden to make sure Maya and Finley have whatever they need.
“Like I said, between Riley bailing and our parents disowning her, Maya was a distraught mess, panicking to try to figure out how to be a single mother. She had to give up everything, all her hopes and dreams. I did what I had to do to take care of her. I’m just lucky that I went to the pros before she had Finley.”
“You’re an amazing brother, Preston. They’re lucky to have you looking out for them.”
“I’m the only one who has ever looked out for them, so I sure as shit wasn’t going to let Riley hurt them. He was my best friend. I knew him better than anyone else. He wasn’t ready to settle down then and probably never will be. All he talked about was going pro, the money and women it would mean.”
“You’re right,” Elle says with a sigh. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Can we please just try to calm down and go to lunch?”
“Yeah, cupcake. Let’s go eat something,” I agree, even though my blood pressure is still sky high.
And after what felt like a heated argument with Elle, I scrap my plan to tell her about California.
I’ll tell her tonight, after the Warhawks win the championship.
Or tomorrow, since I don’t want to ruin the celebration.
Definitely tomorrow.
Elle
I can’t even begin to understand the situation Preston and Maya were in when she got pregnant so young. Even if Preston had to work two or three jobs, he would’ve done it for her and his nephew.
So, while I want to give Christian the benefit of the doubt, I let it go.
It’s none of my business. I’m not the one who kept a roof over their head and made sure they were fed after their parents kicked her out.
“I hate that you both went through all that with Christian,” I tell Preston on the walk back to the salon from our mostly silent lunch. “But you don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to me and him. You believe me, don’t you?”
When he hesitates with his reply, I know I’m not going to like it. “I’m still not convinced that you’re completely over him. I think you’re getting there…”
Taking his hand in mine, I tell him, “Christian and I had a few fun months together. That’s it. I’m not still pining for him. If I was, don’t you think I would’ve said yes the first time he texted me, asking to come over?”
“Yeah, I guess so. And you know his offer of proposing is bullshit, right?”
“Absolutely,” I answer without needing to think about it. “You’re right about him. He’s selfish, arrogant, and only thinks about himself. You two may be the same age, but he still has a lot of growing up to do. And I want…”
“What do you want?” Preston asks, stopping to face me on the sidewalk when I pause.
Looking up at his handsome face, I tell him, “I want to be with someone who makes me feel safe and happy, day and night, not just occasionally when it’s late and he’s lonely.”
“And I make you feel that way?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“I still worry that you’ll end up hurting me.”
“I won’t.”
“Only time will tell, right?” I say with a forced smile.
The one thing I’ve learned about Preston that never waivers is just how important his family, the family he works so hard to provide for, is to him. Nothing is more important.
Especially not me. I understand, even if it makes me a little sad. After all, the two of us just met and started out in a fake relationship.
I’m still expendable to him, even if he won’t admit it to himself.
So, if he ever had to choose between me or his sister and nephew, I know who he’ll pick every time.
It certainly won’t be me.
That’s something I have to understand and respect as part of our real relationship.