Page 51 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

“I could just pretend to be Cal and go with you. It’s not like we haven’t done it before,” he says, then wiggles his eyebrow piercing with his finger. I laugh and give him a smile.

“That would be great, but I really do need his opinion on some of the details, so it’s probably best that he comes with me. But thank you.” I drop my spoon and walk over to give him a quick kiss.

He tries to deepen it and I laugh. “You want to help me make dinner? Ki is in his office grading some papers, but I don’t know what Rooke is doing if you’d rather go find him.”

Nate may love me, but he’s not the best chef. He laughs and moves over to the sink to wash his hands. “What do you need me to do?” he asks, and I point to the fridge.

“Grab the green beans from the drawer and a knife. I need you to cut all the stems off.”

He gets to work and I finish up our dessert. I haven’t made blondies in a while, but they sounded good to me.

“Something smells good,” Nate comments and I smile. “That was one of the things I missed most after we moved away. Alla used to always bake us sweets. Even her cooking was amazing. I’m glad she taught you,” he mutters and I laugh.

“Me too, because my mom can’t cook for shit. I would have starved or lived on takeout.”

I walk over to the sink and wash my hands then help him with the beans. He’s going so slow, trying to make precision cuts, and it’s adorable, but at this rate we won’t be eating tonight.

Soon, dinner is ready and we’re sitting down to eat. Ki sneaks out of his office, clearly smelling the food. His eyes roll in pleasure as he takes a bite and he moans. Cal and Rooke look over at him in surprise, but all I can do is giggle. That’s almost exactly the face Ki makes when we have sex.

“Damn, I didn’t peg you for someone who made sex noises at the dinner table,” Cal teases him as he eats. Cal is a hypocrite, because soon he’s moaning too.

“I only make these sounds when Patience cooks,” Kian chuckles, his ears turning pink.

“I’m taking that as the compliment it is,” I tell him with a smile. Taking a bite, I hum in contentment. Damn, I can cook.

* * *

“Thanks for coming with me,” I tell Cal as he holds the door open for me. He grunts and I sigh. He seems to be in a bad mood today. I think his dad was a dick about him missing work. Maybe he needs another introduction to my bat.

“Let’s just get this done with so I can get my dad off of my back. If it were up to me, I would just take you somewhere we could elope.”

I smile and wish we could do just that. It would be amazing. Maybe on a beach somewhere. All the guys would be there and I could invite Hana. It’s bad enough that Nixen told Cal that Rooke couldn’t be there. Hana is taking him as her date anyways. I dare him to try something with me again.

I can’t wait until we take his ass down. I want to bury him ten feet under the smelliest leach field we can find. Alive. I want him to fucking suffer. Maybe I should find someone to sell him to.

Too bad Letty and Earl are gone.

“Cal, Patience, I was so happy to get your call, but I have to ask, is there a reason why we had to bump up the date?” Laci asks, looking specifically at my stomach. I huff and Cal laughs, shaking his head.

“It’s more of a business reason. Patience isn’t pregnant. Actually, we’ve been waiting for the wedding night,” he says with a grin and I try not to crack. Is she really going to believe this?

“Oh, my God, that is just so sweet. I’ll be honest, marriages at your age usually don’t last, but I have a feeling you’ll make it. Childhood sweethearts, reunited. Ahhhh, it’s like the perfect love story.”

Cal moves closer to me, places his hand on my waist, and kisses my temple. I know he’s just doing it for show, but I try not to swoon. He’s come a long way from being that asshole bully who wanted to bury me.

I think Rooke brought us together, and I’m glad he did. I had missed my best friend. He’s still not the boy he once was, but there are times that I get a glimpse of him and it makes me ache for those days.

I’m having a really hard time planning the wedding as we go through color schemes and food menus. My throat closes with emotions several times, and it’s not because I’m bored to tears. My dad should be here for my wedding.

I always dreamed that he would be here to help me plan. I was always closer to him than my mom. Dad tried to tell me that she wasn’t always like this, but I will always wonder if that’s because he tended to see the good in people.

“You’ve been really quiet,” Cal murmurs as Laci steps out to check on something. “Are you okay?”

“I just miss my dad,” I whisper with a shrug, brushing a tear from my eye. “He was supposed to be here for all of this, and he was taken from me. My mom has been selfish and mean for years. We have never been as close as Dad and I were.”

His arm awkwardly comes around me and then he curses under his breath, hauling me into his lap. “Your dad, Phillipe, was one of the most attentive fathers that I’ve ever met,” Cal confesses. “I was always a little jealous. My dad would drown in work, but yours would find a way to sneak home to tuck you in. He never missed the big or little things. He would have hated this wedding.”

I giggle as I start to sniffle, too. I’m a hormonal mess.

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