Page 406 of The Winslow Brothers

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” I say, taking a deep breath and pulling away enough to shift to a spot behind the back of one of his chairs. “Did you fire him? Am I getting kicked out of the program?”

He shakes his head, a genuinely caring smile curving out the corners of his normally serious lips. “No. I don’t think that’d be a very good start to this new dimension of our relationship, do you?”

“New dimension?”

He shrugs. “You’re in love with each other, are you not?”

I open my mouth and gulp like a fish before finally admitting it on a nod.Yes, I am one hundred percent, unequivocally in love with Ty Winslow.

“I don’t want the possibility of having fired my future son-in-law on my conscience.”

Future son-in-law? Ho-ly shit.My breath catches in my lungs.

“Plus, I don’t think anything I could have done to him would have mattered since he told me to shove it.” My eyes widen as he continues. “Actually, I’m pretty sure his exact words were,I’m in love with your daughter, sir. And that means I only care what she thinks.”

“He said that?”

My dad nods, considering me for a moment. “I know you probably don’t want my opinion, but in this case, I feel I need to give it,” he adds and reaches out to pat my shoulder. “Yesterday, what I saw was a man who stood before me with only one intention—to stand up for and support the woman he loves.”

I shut my eyes, and tears start to sting my nose.

Through all the panty games and push and pull and teasing and taunting and jokes, I never saw it coming. I fell in love with the ultimate player—and he fell in love with me.

“Dad, I have to go,” is all I have the power to say.

“I was wondering when you were going to get out of here,” he muses and pats my shoulder again before walking back to his desk chair. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too,” I say, and I spin on my heel to run out of his office and down to the opposite end of the hall. But when I reach the office that readsProfessor Ty Winslowon the side, the door is shut and the lights are off.

Shit.

I scramble to get my phone out of my purse, but right before I hit the call button below his name, I stop myself.

No, not like this, Rachel. He deserves more than a hurried phone call and empty apologies.

A memory strikes me—one I was absolutely certain at the time would never equate to anything. But when it does, I can’t help but smile at the familial foresight. Damn, those Winslow siblings are good.

Searching and scraping through my bag, I finally close my fingers around the card-stock rectangle I’m looking for.

Pulling it out quickly, I plug the numbers into my phone and hit the button to call.

Ty

I stare at my television screen, mindlessly scrolling through channels and wondering when in the fuck my life turned to such shit.

When you fell in love, bro.

Oh, right. When I decided to fall in fucking love. That’s when it all went to hell.

My phone vibrates from the couch cushion beside me, and I hate how my pathetic heart kicks up ten notches. But the hopeful bastard goes back to his slow and steady rhythm when my eyes meet the screen and find a text from my brother Remy instead of any godforsaken salvation.

Remy: Last-minute family dinner tonight. Meet at Winnie’s house.

I roll my eyes and look up at the ceiling of my living room.Yeah, no. Fuck no.

But then my phone vibrates three more times with texts from my siblings.

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