Page 84 of No More Billionaires

I didn’t say it aloud, but his was the name that popped instantly into my head.

“Daddy,” I said after a pause. “He fell in love with you back when you thought you were so ugly, didn’t he?”

“Well, your father’s rare. There aren’t many men like him in the world. Where does that leave you and Cadence?”

“I don’t know.” I truly didn’t.

After what had happened last night, Larson would probably never trust me again, and who could blame him? I didn’t know where we stood, and I was afraid to find out.

She slid off the bed and went to my bathroom where I heard a loud gust of nose-blowing before she came back into sight, standing in the bathroom doorway.

“Did I mess things up for you and Larson? I don’t think those Overstreet people liked me very much. They high-tailed it out of there and back to their fancy friends as soon as you left last night.”

“You know what? What’s done is done. And I messed things up with Larson all by myself. I wasn’t honest with him. I knew he had trust issues. I should have told him more about myself sooner. Now it’s probably too late.”

Speaking of late, I needed to hurry and get dressed and finish my makeup so Cadence and I could go apartment-hunting.

That’s right—I said makeup.

I hadn’t actually slept much during the previous night, in spite of the comfy hotel bedding. Daddy snored. And I’d had a lot of thinking to do.

By the early hours of morning, I’d concluded my boycott against beauty and fashion had been more about Momma than about me.

The real me loved it all—just like Heidi, and Mara, and my sister had tried to tell me. Refusing to acknowledge my true interests made me just as much of a fake as using them for the wrong purposes did.

From now on, I was going to be the authentic me—cute outfits, full makeup, curling iron and all.

Some menwerecapable of seeing a person’s inner andouter selves. And someone could love me for both.

Larson had shown me that. I’d losthim—but if it had happened once, then maybe it could happen for me again... someday.

I’d also reached another conclusion—I didn’t deserve Larson. When I looked back on it all, I’d treated him quite badly, while he’d been nothing but kind to me—loving, even.

No, I didn’t deserve him.

But I still wanted him. That much I was sure of.

I just had no earthly idea what to do about it.

TWENTY-FIVE

Breakdown

By Sunday night, Momma was in full-blown panic mode, slipping in and out of crying jags and certain my father would never come home.

Cadence and I didn’t tell her Daddy would be walking in the door at any moment. He’d wanted to allow her sufficient time to feel his absence and worry about the fate of their relationship and then stage sort of a surprise family intervention when he arrived.

“I almost want to tell her,” I whispered to Cadence as we cleared the dishes after avery quietdinner for three. “She’s so pitiful.”

“No, don’t. That’s why they call it tough love. It has to hurt before things can get better. She’s a hard case. This is for the best. Trust Daddy. He knows her better than anybody on the planet.”

“Girls?” Momma’s voice came from down the hall. “Could you come here please?”

Cadence and I exchanged looks, each reading the dread on the other’s face. We walked down the hall together toward the living room where our family used to gather to watch television or play games, back when everyone could stand everyone else.

Momma was curled up in Daddy’s leather chair, wearing one of his sweaters. Her face was the picture of misery.

“Sit down girls,” she said as we entered the room.

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