Page 122 of Who's Your Daddy?

Those piercing jade eyes shift to my breasts for a moment too long before he looks away again. Granted, my breasts are slightly bigger than they used to be, but they’re also not as...perky, and I’m not sure if it’s that specific change that currently has him acting so weird.

I play with the pendant on my chain, trying to cover myself up a bit. “Is something wrong...with me?”

“No.” He glances at me, then his gaze drops to the floor. “It’s just...I wasn’t expectingallthis...” He gestures to my outfit. “...when I came upstairs. My mind’s trying to adjust...to seeing you...like that.”

“Okay, what is it? Is it the dress? Does it make me look a little pudgy?”

“No.”

“Then what? Am I overdressed? Is it too much?”

“No, I think it’s...too little.”

I wait for him to elaborate, but he leaves it hanging there. “Oh, well, that makes sense. Clears it right up. I fully understand what you mean.”

He smirks at my sarcasm. “I just mean that’s, uh, that’s a lot of skin you’re showing. It’s too much skin. Too little...dress.”

I nod. Maybe that’s the problem. Showing more is exposing more flaws than I’m aware of. “So, it’s the skin-to-dress ratio that’s bothering you?”

“Yep. It’s bothering me a lot. And it shouldn’t...but it is...Rafael is probably going to be at the wedding today, right?”

The question confuses me because it’s random and came out of nowhere. “Yeah. He offered to pick me up.”

“Of course he did.” His hands clench into fists, and he drops his forehead against the doorjamb. “Fuck, I hate this. You’re killing me, Li. Every second of you being here just drives me more insane.”

What is that? Rejection: #562 232 847 512. Every time I feel like we’re making headway, like we’ve taken one step forward, something like this will remind me it’s all in my head. It’s just wishful thinking on my part.

I rapidly blink back tears because I can’t afford to ruin my makeup. “I should get going. Raf will probably be here any minute.”

That’s a lie. Raf agreed to pick me up at 13:30, so I still have a twenty-minute wait ahead of me, but I need to get out of this house. Screw the dress. I don’t care if it exposes more flaws than it hides. I just need to get out of here, and I’m going to use the walk down to the main gate as an opportunity to clear my head.

I grab my clutch and the camera bag off the bed and walk to the door. As I pass him, he grabs my arm, but he immediately yanks his hand away as if he’d been burned. He takes one step forward, then goes one step back. He opens his mouth to say something, but not a single word comes out. Doubt is brewing inside him, and it seems like he’s not sure whether he wants to bridge the gap between us. I wait a minute for him to say something, but he remains silent, and I accept that as the end of the conversation.

“Bye,” I say softly and get nothing back.

My head is buzzing, a million thoughts zipping through it as I walk down the stairs and out the front door. The clarity I was hoping for during my trek to the main gate doesn’t materialize. I’m so preoccupied that I don’t even notice the time pass. I push aside my mental anguish when I see Rafael’s car approaching. Today is a happy day, and I need to be happy for my friend.

“Hi,” I greet with as much cheerfulness as I can muster as I get in.

“Hi.” He reaches over and gives me a quick hug. “You look incredible.”

“Thank you.”

“So, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I’ve been good. How about you?”

“Good.” He pulls away from the curb and heads toward the highway. “We were worried about you. You just...disappeared.”

“Just had some issues I had to deal with...but I’m back now. And everything’s fine.”

He glances my way. “So, you and Peter are...back together?”

I’m not sure where he’s going with that question, so I take the safer option because I don’t want him getting any ideas. “Uh...yeah. We had a misunderstanding, but we sorted it out.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

We have a mini catch-up on the way to the church, and then I have the same conversation with Shontelle when she finally arrives.

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