Page 77 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

No more wondering or hoping.

“Are you okay?” Kingston asked, after we pulled out of the development.

“I actually am. Thanks for going with me. I don’t think I’d have believed it myself if there weren’t two of us witnessing that madness with our own eyes.” I shook my head in disbelief. “What even was that?”

“That was—a shit show. I kind of like Phoenix, though.” He chuckled.

“Yeah. He was nice enough. But Destiny? The screaming? What is my father thinking?”

“Honestly. I think your father went for the money, and he totally traded down. They may have a big house, but that place was terrifying,” Kingston said as he pulled down a side street as if he knew where he was going.

I laughed. “Constance had the most frozen face I’ve ever seen, and my father just lets her say whatever the hell she wants. He knew I graduated from college. Not to mention the way they talked about my mother and my brother. That was the final nail in the coffin for me.” I ran my fingers over my necklace.

“Me, too. And Demon Barbie definitely gouged my chest with those freaky claws, not to mention the fact that I’ve got pink fur lodged in my throat.”

I chuckled because it was impossible not to. If I didn’t laugh right now, I’d curl up in a ball and cry. Because the truth was, my father hadn’t wanted to see me today. His spoiled, belligerent, teenage daughter wanted a sister—so he’d called me.

It should hurt, but it didn’t.

It was sort of on par with the man who’d left all those years ago.

I’d finally seen him for who he was.

“I did patch you up after the bee sting, so I’m sure I could do the same for the damage Destiny did,” I said, turning to him as he pulled into a drive-thru.

“All right, Dandelion. I’d love to have you patch me up.” He waggled his brows. “Now, let’s eat some chicken fingers and put the house of horror in our rearview.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.

We pulled over and ate lunch in the car and then got on the road back to Magnolia Falls.

“You seem like you’re handling things okay, huh?” Kingston asked.

“Why do you think I’m breakable? I know my brother does, too. But just because Hayes and I have different ways of looking at things doesn’t mean I can’t handle disappointment. My father hasn’t seen me in over two decades. Did you really think I had high expectations? I just wanted to meet them. Meet my half-siblings. See if there would be some sort of connection if I saw my father in person after all these years. But how can I be let down when the man has never shown up for me or Hayes?”

“You’re much stronger than people think, Dandelion,” he said, as we closed the distance to Magnolia Falls.

“Hayes still sees me as a kid. And I can’t even fault him, because he’s always had my back. But we look at things very differently. He is very black and white, and I think there is always a little gray area to hope for the best, you know?”

“I get that. How are things going with your mom?”

“She’s come into the bookstore a few times. We’re working on it.” I shrugged, glancing back and taking him in. His baseball cap was still turned backward, and he had just the slightest bit of scruff on his jaw. My eyes zeroed in on his plump lips, and I remembered the way they felt against mine.

He was ridiculously sexy.

I couldn’t get that kiss out of my head.

I’d never ached for a man the way I ached for Kingston Pierce.

“That’s great. I think I understand that gray area, too. It’s okay to hope for good things to come out of tough situations.”

“Yeah? So you’re on my side on this one?” My voice was all tease.

“I’m always on your side, Saylor.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I think losing my parents the way I did and missing out on knowing them was about as bad as it gets. But being raised by amazing grandparents was the bright side of a horrific situation.”

I nodded. He always played it so cool. But I knew that he felt that loss every single day. “Your grandparents really did step up. I just went to see Pearl yesterday. She really is the best.”

“We definitely agree on that.” He winked at me before turning his attention back to the road in front of him.

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