Page 68 of Made For You
“Stop apologizing for your family. If anything,I’msorry you had to grow up with that man. I’m sorry if he ever laid a hand on you, Talon. You didn’t deserve that. No child does. I'm sorry your mother was taken away from this world before her time, leaving you with that beast of a man. And I’m sorry you can’t see you’re so much more than a name.” Her voice quaked on the last word, and she shoved her face into my shoulder as another round of tears fell from her eyes.
As she cried for the child I once was, I held her, wishing I could take away her sadness. Take away anything that caused her pain.
As she fell asleep against me, I made a promise to myself that when our time was up, I was going to make sure whoever captured Aurora’s heart was worthy of it. Because this angel mourning my childhood at the hand of my cruel uncle deserved the absolute best man. Even if that wasn’t going to be me.
Chapter Eighteen – Aurora
Weeks passed as Talon and I fell into a routine. I figured after a month or two, he would have grown bored with the town and all its nosy neighbors, but that hadn’t been the case. Betsy, who worked in the bakery at the grocery store, was Talon’s best friend in town. I suspected it was because she reminded him of his grandmother.
The first time I took him shopping, she asked him why he was walking around looking like he stepped in a heaping pile of dog shit. In his grumpy state, Talon tended to scrunch his nose a bit when he was listening to someone talk. Her assessment had been right on.
Other than Dean and me, Talon never had anyone call him out like that before. Since then, he and Betsy had a weekly lunch date. I thought it was the cutest thing ever. He was excited to have his grandmother come visit so the two women could meet. I had a feeling, despite her enthusiasm during the charity event, Gigi wasn’t going to be as enthralled with the town as Talon was.
Every day, I’d been on guard for an article calling me a politician’s mistress. Ever since Dean crashed the charity event and handed Talon a stack of articles about me, I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, there had only been rumblings, but that could change any day. I didn’t expect Talon to throw money around to cover it up, especially since the story about being Jeremy’s mistress didn’t add up. The article dated vacations and his years at school that didn’t coincide with the truth, which I had evidence to verify. Both Dean and Talon said it was easier to ignore than to make the press think we cared.
Well, I cared. Especially since Jeremy’s wedding was coming up this weekend. My sisters and their newly hiredplanner were working overtime to get the venue ready for who my sister called a “groomzilla.” Autumn said Jeremy and his mother had taken the reins of the wedding, not allowing his fiancée a say in anything. I wondered if she’d been able to pick out her own dress. I almost felt bad for her.
Almost.
With the article, our fears about the press finding out what we’d done grew. But whenever either of us brought up the topic of what we’d do or what we’d say, the other person would change the subject. I wasn’t sure if it was fear of the past or dread of the future. But it became a scenario where I hoped the longer I ignored it, then maybe it would go away.
I was in the middle of my planning period at school, talking with Franny on the phone while her preschoolers were taking their naps.
“How are things with Liam?” I asked her. Over the past few weeks, she and my neighbor had been on multiple dates. And Franny said they were taking things slow. Which in Franny’s world meant they had yet to have sex.
“Good. He’s taking me away for the weekend. He didn’t say where. I’m hoping maybe it will happen then.”
I knew from Franny’s overly informative messages that the two of them had done everything but seal the deal. She went into more detail, telling me about the wild places they were hooking up. I had a hard time looking my room neighbor in the eye.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”
“Thanks. What are you and Talon doing this weekend?”
“It’s the wedding.”
“Thewedding?”
“Yep.”
I’d been dreading this weekend. Even with Talon by my side, it was going to be awkward. I even asked my mom if Jeremy or Mrs. Mitchell rescinded the invite after the fiasco at the bar. But nothing. We were still on the guest list and had been added to the seating chart.
“I kind of wish I could be a fly on the wall for that.”
“It’s going to be something; that’s for sure.”
A quick glance at the clock told me my planning period was almost over, and thirty teenagers would soon greet me.
The first few days of class, it took a while for the students to take me seriously. It wasn’t until Talon made an unexpected visit that my students started paying better attention. I wasn’t sure if they were all under Talon’s spell like Indiana Jones inRaiders of the Lost Ark, or if they were afraid of him. Either way, the weeks since his spontaneous visit, students had been acing exams and showing up to class on time. I wasn’t convinced it was purely due to my teaching capabilities. Though I enjoyed lying to myself and saying it was.
“I have to go, Franny.”
“All right, want me to come over later to help you pick out something for the wedding?”
“I think Talon is going to have some dresses delivered for me to choose from.”
“Oh, to be rich.” I hated when she said that.Talonwas rich. I was just his wife. Though it did help that he had a team of people review my grant proposals before I submitted them last week. I didn’t expect to win it the first year, but it gave me an idea of how to put together the proposal in the future.
So far, the money Talon deposited in my account was sitting there collecting dust. The little I did spend was to have some scholarships set up for the students. The criteria required them to work so many hours on a farm during the week. And when I say little, it was tens of thousands of dollars, but overall,they barely made a dent in my million. Especially since the scholarships wouldn’t be issued until the end of the school year.
