Page 110 of The Main Event

“Then I’ll be crushed.”

“No, you won’t.” He shook his head. “You believe that Jax is going to find the strength to tell his father where to stick it.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Do you need me to believe that?”

“I just want the truth.” Good or bad, I relied on Levi to always tell me the truth.

“I think he loves you,” Levi replied. “He might not have said it yet, but he knows it. I don’t know about his relationship with his family—and his father sounds like a real dick—but I believe he loves you and he’s going to do whatever is necessary to make you happy.”

“But … will making me happy make him happy?” That was the part I kept snagging on. “I know that he’s been through a lot with his family—and his dad definitely sounds like a dick—but maybe being in that life does make him happy.”

“That life is all he’s known … until now. I don’t believe that life makes him happy.”

“You’re being very careful here,” I prodded. “You’re worried, too, aren’t you?”

“I’m worried that he might momentarily crumble,” Levi acknowledged. “I don’t know how likely it is, but he’s facing a lot of pressure.”

“Momentarily?”

He smirked. “You would snag on that word. I don’t doubt for a second that he loves you, Daisy. Dealing with family is alwaysdifficult, though. I think, for a guy like him, when you’re dealing with a father who puts the weight of the world on your shoulders—and has been doing it for a long time—that things might get hairy. He won’t give you up, though, so if his father pressures him, he’ll fight back.”

“But maybe not at first,” I surmised.

“But maybe not at first,” he acknowledged. “It’s a lot to deal with. I don’t think we can truly understand the pressure he’s under. It sounds to me as if his father is putting everything on Jax’s shoulders, which isn’t fair. There’s a reason that George left the hotel to Jax and nobody else.”

I’d already come to that conclusion myself. “Yeah. All I can do is be there for him.”

Levi agreed. “Don’t turn on him if he has a moment of doubt. He’s going to need you to be strong for him.”

“I just wish his family would get it together. They sound like monsters. Do you know that his father never once showed up for a school event and his mother only did if the other women in her social circle were going?”

Levi burst out laughing. “I think it’s hilarious you’re angry about that. Of course, coming from the girl who had two moms and a dad at every parent-teacher conference, it’s not unexpected. Not everybody had the same love you did growing up.”

I studied his face, long and hard. Levi didn’t talk about his parents much. He had a passable relationship with his mother, although I wouldn’t call it close. His father had essentially disowned him when Levi came out, though. I couldn’t remember the last time Levi and his father had even shared a conversation. His father, much like mine, lived in Boston. Unlike my father, though, Bert Gordon never made the effort to visit his son.

Which was why my parents—all three of them—had essentially adopted Levi. He talked to his mother once a monthor so. She still lived in Salem. She wasn’t a good mother, though. They had a very stilted relationship.

“Do you think it’s possible to have two soulmates?” I asked out of the blue.

His forehead creased in confusion. “Where did that come from? Are you dating someone other than Jax?”

“No. It’s just … you’re my soulmate too. A different kind of soulmate, but a soulmate nonetheless.”

He wrapped me tight in a hug. “I feel the same way about you.” He kissed the top of my head. “Don’t lose faith in Jax. He’s done nothing to warrant it. He might surprise you yet.”

“Yeah. He’s stronger than he realizes. I wish his parents weren’t such buttmunches, though.”

“Well, buttmunches never win. Plus, once you go Daisy, you never go back. Everything is going to be okay.”

I could only hope he was right.

I WAS A PERSON WHO LIKED CHECKLISTS.There was something exciting about marking things off my list. With the Halloween party barreling closer—I only had three hours until I had to be back, in costume, and ready to roll—each item I checked on my list felt like a victory.

The alcohol was set.

The garnishes were set.

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