Page 105 of The Good Girl (Nashville Neighborhood)

I rested my elbows on the table and put my head in my hands. “Fuck, I don’t know. It seems too fast. Too . . .”

“Too, what?” She hit the nail on the head with one word. “Scary?”

It was tough to admit. “Yeah.”

There wasn’t any judgement in her expression. “What are you afraid of?”

“I don’t know.” My gaze dropped to the tabletop, tracing the woodgrain. “It sounds stupid, but what if I haven’t, like, changed enough?”

Even without looking at her, I sensed the way her posture straightened and imagined her stunned demeanor. She didn’t say anything, probably because she wasn’t sure what she’d say.

“I didn’t want her to get hurt,” I confessed. “I didn’t want to fuck things up.”

Cassidy made a sound of disbelief, drawing my focus back to her. “Preston. Don’t you realize asking that shows how much you’ve changed? You’re worrying about her and not yourself.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter because she broke up with me.”

“Wait, what?” She tilted her head. “She said she loved you, and then she dumped you?”

I tried not to wince. “She said she wanted to make things easier for me and take herself out of the equation.”

There was a flicker of understanding in her eyes. “She’s giving you up to salvage your friendship with Colin.”

“But I don’t want to lose her. What the fuck do I do?”

She looked at me like I’d just asked the dumbest question she’d ever heard. “You do the same thing your father did when I was on the losing side of your ultimatum. You fight for her. You convince him you should be with Sydney, and you don’t give up until that happens.” A knowing smile hinted at her lips. “You don’t give up until you win.”

Because she knew me and how much I hated to lose.

And that? It was all I needed to get control of myself.

Cassidy jammed her fork into her leftovers, took a bite, and contemplated me while as she ate. It was like she was watching the plan as it began to form in my head.

My chair legs squealed across the floor when I launched to my feet. “Thanks for your advice.”

“You’re welcome, but you didn’t need it. I mean, you always get your way, Preston. Why would that suddenly stop now?”

Her comment wasn’t meant to be mean, and it caused me to smile. “Right.”

I was about to head up the stairs to my office, but a new thought stopped me in my tracks.

“Hey,” I said. “Since we’re cool with talking about all this relationship stuff, can I ask you something?” It was a question I wasn’t sure I could handle hearing the answer until now. “Are you and my dad going to get married?”

Her fork had been halfway to her mouth, and she froze awkwardly, because this had to be one of the last things she’d expected. Her fork slowly lowered back to the container, and her eyes clouded over with sadness. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Well, he’d have to ask me first,” she lifted her shoulders in a defeated shrug, “and that’s never going to happen.”

I felt the strange urge to defend him. “I bet he’s waiting until you’re done with school.”

Her laugh was empty, “No, it’s not that.”

“Okay?”

She stared at me like I was missing something huge. “He won’t ask because while you’ll tolerate us being together, we all know it can’t go any further than that.”

My heart slowed as I realized what she was saying, and my unfocused gaze drifted away from her. They’d never be more to each other than they were now because they thought I wouldn’t allow it. Cassidy and my dad were sacrificing what they wanted—what I knew she hoped for—to spare my feelings.

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