Page 105 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming
“I don’t know, it seems like she’s using you.”
That’s my baby, always protecting me.Even when she doesn’t need to.
“Relax, Dannie bear. He’s an insecure loser who dumped her for a younger woman and convinced himself that he’s the victor. He doesn’t expect her to show up, let alone bring a date.”
Danielle playfully rolls her eyes and laughs. “I can see we’re not going to agree on this, but whatever you do, don’t get arrested.”
Silas winks at her.
“I still think it’s awesome. She’s going to have her own revenge dress moment, and bringing Daddy will just make it sweeter. Men are always threatened by other dudes.”
“Revenge dress?” Danielle asks.
“Yes, not long after her divorce from then Prince Charles, Princess Diana went out in this stunning little black dress. That look was dubbed the revenge dress.”
Silas leans down and reads Bridget’s bio. Summer touches his face, and he kisses her cheek, then pretends to nibble it, making the little one laugh some more.
“Lamar Nelson’s debut book was garbage, but every subsequent book was good. It made fans skeptical that he even wrote them. Dani, open a new tab and Google ‘Lamar Nelson writer.’”
Danielle does as she’s asked, and the family reads some of the reviews for his debut novel on Goodreads. They aren’t good. Not one review is positive. They’re either flat-out disdainful or they’re giving him credit for trying. Silas laughs as he reads the following review:
“You know how you may not have proof of something, but you know it to be true?I don’t have proof that this dude didn’t have a beta reader or an editor on hand, but I know he didn’t.Because no one in that field, at least no one worth their salt, would have let this book go out as it’s written, without saying something.
This has to be hands-down the most boring book I have ever read. I was told that this would be an epic fantasy adventure, but the main character, Jamal, didn’t even leave the earth realm until the very end of the book. The whole story was just him running errands around his neighborhood until he gathered enough stuff to leave onhis quest. Every person he visited gave a long, drawn-out speech about his responsibility to complete the quest. I kept waiting for the quest to start, and I was pissed that he didn’t leave until the last page! I am not wasting my time with book two. Just read the author’s wife, BR Nelson’s books, they’re way better.”
Tiffany reads along with Silas before she speaks up. “Word is he and Ms. Nelson started writing around the same time, and her books blew up first. She did everything to put him on, including getting him an agent and a book deal. Folks in bookish spaces say she was ghostwriting the books he released after his debut because they drastically improved. The book he released since their split sucks.”
They go to the reviews of his most recent book, and they’re just as bad as the reviews for his debut.
“He was probably pissed that the bookish folks’ love was for something he didn’t actually write,” Silas remarks.
Danielle turns her attention to Tiffany. “So, this woman built a career and helped her husband build his—even going so far as to write books for him, and he left her for a younger woman and then has the audacity to invite her to their wedding?”
“Yeah. Still thinks she needs to be the bigger person?” Silas teases.
“Hell no! I take it all back, Daddy. I need you and Bridget to go there and make that man regret every decision that led him to that very moment when you two enter the room.”
“That’s the plan, Dannie Bear.” Silas grins.
4
BRIDGET
Bridget has been talking on the phone or texting Silas every day since they met. Last night, they talked for four hours about everything from their individual predictions for the apocalypse to the origins of different foods. Silas was surprised that cinnamon rolls come from Sweden originally, another random fact Bridget knows thanks to author research.
Lamar’s wedding is in one week, and she’s more enamored with her crush than ever. She’s downright giddy about their road trip.
Tonight, Silas is bringing Danielle and Tiffany over for dinner with her, LJ and Tanya, something she’s more nervous than giddy about. She really wants the kids to like him and his kids to like her. While there’s no reason either wouldn’t, she’s still anxious, especially about her kids liking Silas. LJ and Tanya aren’t fans of their future stepmother. Bridget understands, and not just because she’s their mother. Lamar’s fiancée, Justine, is the epitome of fake. She’s the type to call herself a girl’s girl but obviously has no problem being a side chick.
LJ simply ignores Justine’s presence. She tried bonding with him exactly once, and he chose to treat her like a nonentityand stayed silent when she tried to engage him. This resulted in her leaving him alone. As a girl, Tanya didn’t get off so easily. Justine wants to be besties. She’s constantly asking Tanya to go shopping or get their nails done. Tanya isn’t disrespectful because she was raised right, but she inherited Bridget’s no-nonsense demeanor—and unsurprisingly, she’s on her mom’s side. Justine thinks that Tanya being a teenager is enough to frankly manipulate her into being friends.
Tanya may be all fun and games thanks to her goofy sense of humor, which has always been a fun balance to her brother’s more laid-back personality, but she’s also very shrewd. Something Bridget has always admired. She cannot be played. Case in point, her approach to her soon-to-be stepmom is to be polite but not warm. Meanwhile, whenever Bridget and Justine are in the same room, Tanya is especially chummy with her mom as a subtle dig at Justine. Tanya once told Bridget she wants Justine to see how close they are and know, “This will never be us.”Bridget truly loves her babies.
The doorbell rings. Bridget lets him, Tiffany and Danielle in.
“You look radiant.” Silas kisses her on the cheek. He says it like it’s a statement of fact and not his opinion. That’s how he compliments her. He’ll tell her how beautiful she is, and it will sound like he’s saying,“The sky is blue.” As if it’s something that’s common knowledge, Bridget loves it. It’s not fake and showy. She can tell that he means it and he’s not just saying it to flatter her.
“Thank you.”
