Page 115 of All Too Well
I knew that Ainsley was the only person who could offer me solace, but then I took and took because I was just so beyond angry.
Every damn dream I had was falling apart.
I wanted to play professional football—that didn’t work.
I wanted a family—the mother of my child walked away.
I planned to stay in Virginia Beach, lean on my parents—my mother chose to die instead of fight.
Plan after plan was just gone.
Then she walked out.
And every want, hope, dream, and desire were in front of me.
I look to my best friend, unsure of what to say. “Do you really want to know?”
“Am I going to want to punch you in the face?”
“Most definitely.”
He glances in the truck and sees Rose there, smiling at him. “I’ll add it to your tab.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Rose rolls the window down. “Daddy, can we please go get Ainsley now? I want to see the Admiral and get on a ship.”
Caspian chokes on a laugh. “What crazy stories are you feeding that kid?”
“Your sister told her about the tiger cruise where we went to sea with the ship.”
“Ahh.” Caspian grins, and I’ve seen that look before. He’s totally going to make me pay for this previous conversation. “You know, Rose, you should tell the Admiral that you want to see the shiptoday.”
“Today?” Her hazel eyes brighten.
“He’ll take you, I bet.”
I groan. “We don’t have time to do that today because of your cheer competition, sweetheart.”
“But, Daddy! I want to see the big boat!”
“Ship,” I correct, as does Caspian.
“Okay, can I please ask the Admiral to take us?”
Caspian, the asshole, cuts in. “Of course you can. Your daddy would never deprive you of something so special.”
I glare at him and he smirks. “I’ll be deducting one punch.”
“It was worth it.”
“Go before I put a tally on yours.”
He leans in and kisses his goddaughter’s cheek and then flips me off as he gets in his car. As painful as that was, it’s going to pale in comparison to what’s next.
“Come in,” Ainsley says at the door.
“We just have a minute. We need to get on the road soon.”
