Page 53 of Worth the Risk

What he means is he is coming to check out Kylie. He’s curious. I’ve never brought a girl to meet him, so the information Sophie shared has him inquiring about the girl who’s grabbed my attention.

“Sounds good,” I lie.

Doesn’t sound good at all.

After patting him on the shoulder, I head to my bedroom.

Mom was a good mother until she wasn’t. She always doted on Sophie and me growing up. She and Dad met when she interned at his company while studying for her master’s in finance, and they fell instantly in love with each other. After earning her degree, she continued with the company and worked under Oliver, Amber’s dad and my father’s lifelong friend, who is still our CFO.

They married, and when she got pregnant with me, they decided she would stay home and raise me and later Sophie, but she occasionally still helped Dad at the office when needed. She never missed a game I played or a dance recital Sophie was in. She was always there for us cooking, helping us with our homework, and doing anything and everything for us like we were her world.

The day I left for college, she was hugging me and crying about how much she’d miss me and didn’t want to let me go. Dad eventually pulled her away. As he guided her away from my dorm, he held her close to his side while she wept on his shoulder.

A week later, she was gone.

No goodbye.

It was as if she vanished into thin air, and her only communication was through her attorney. When Sophie called me crying, telling me she was gone, I couldn’t believe it. I tried calling Mom repeatedly, but her phone went directly to voicemail.

Eventually, the calls came through with an automated voice telling me the number was no longer in service. I came home that weekend, and Dad was a wreck and drunk off his ass. He stayed in that state for a year. He became depressed, drank nonstop, and wouldn’t leave the penthouse in case she came home.

I went home most weekends to help Sophie, who was doing her best to help Dad through it. If it wasn’t for his trusted friend and CFO, Oliver, the company would have crumbled.

We eventually sought the help of a licensed therapist and had an intervention.

On one of my weekends at home, the therapist came to the apartment, and we coaxed Dad to talk. We explained how he wasn’t solely hurting himself but also hurting us to see him in this state.

With the help of the therapist, we got through to him, and Dad slowly started to come back to us. He no longer drank, he went to work, and he eventually became the man he used to be.

Still, to this day, he thinks of her. I’ve caught him saying her name in his sleep.

He’s not lonely, though. My dad doesn’t date, and he doesn’t realize I know this, but he spends time with escorts. He doesn’t want to get attached to another woman. My mother was it for him.

After that, I swore I’d never give myself to someone. I set up boundaries, and I had every intention of never going through what my dad had or giving a woman that power over me. To tell me she loves me, act like I’m her world, then pick up and leave. Mom already did that to me.

That is until I met Kylie. She’s breaking down my barriers one piece at a time, and like the fool I may be, there’s no will to stop it. I opened my heart to her. I don’t have any control over it, and I only hope she doesn’t make me regret falling for her.

Thinking about Kylie, I decide to FaceTime her. I’ve been waking up to her stunning face every morning, and now that I’m away, I’m missing her. Bringing up her name on my phone, I press it to call her. I need to see that she’s still here with me, even though we are far apart.

Her gorgeous face pops up when she answers. “Hello, Leo.” She’s smiling, but something feels off. She’s also lying in bed.

“Is everything okay, Sunshine?”

She hesitates before replying. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem like yourself.” She looks miserable. I live for her smiles, and there’s not one lighting up her face now.

A thought pops into my mind.Did she find out about Liz? I mean, Beth.

Whatever the hell her name is.

“I, um… have a bit of a stomachache.”

Whew. Crisis adverted.I’ll have to tell her eventually, but I fear she won’t understand. “Sorry to hear that. Was it something you ate?”

“I’m, um…” She hesitates. “Cramping.”

Oh, okay. I get now why she hesitated. She doesn’t want to tell me she has her period. I’ve never had to worry about this before, so this is unfamiliar territory for me.

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