Page 87 of Such a Good Girl

All I wanted was Kaylee with me all the time.

I couldn’t tell her that, though. It sounded obsessive and crazy, even to my ears. I knew I needed to slow down, or I’d scare her away completely. I wanted to do this right. I wanted to make it last.

But my thoughts were consuming me.

“Do you think this place is big enough?” I asked her, after the real estate agent left us out on the top terrace alone.

“Big enough?” She laughed. “I think so, West. How much room do you need?”

I shrugged. “I thought I might grow into it.”

“Grow into it? Are you planning on starting a family?” Her eyes were wide and I knew my comment surprised her.

“Someday. Why not?”

“We never talked about it. I guess I didn’t know you wanted kids.”

“Don’t you?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe someday.”

“A lot of women put their careers first. You don’t seem like that kind of woman.”

A shadow passed over her eyes, and she looked away.

“This place is really beautiful. The view alone is spectacular,” she said, changing the subject.

“The view is amazing,” I said, gazing at her. “You’re beautiful.”

“Oh, West,” she said, blushing gorgeously and proving my point. I pulled her into my arms. The salty smell of the Pacific permeated her hair as I buried my face in its softness.

“Move in with me, Little Rose,” I said, throwing caution to the wind.

She stiffened in my arms. “West, no,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “It’s way too soon for that, but it sounds lovely.”

“We could live here,” I said. “Have coffee out here every morning. Make love to the sounds of the crashing every night.”

“Maybe someday,” she whispered, as she looked up at me with sad eyes. Were those tears I saw?

She pulled away and walked through the rest of the house, leaving me alone to look out at the waves crashing on the beach below. I knew she’d say no, of course. And she was right, obviously. That didn’t stop me from fantasizing about being able to wake up with her in my arms every morning.

Encouraged by her ‘maybe’, I told the agent I’d be in touch if I decided to make an offer. I gathered up Kaylee and took her to lunch at my favorite Thai place. As she was in the bathroom washing up, I scrolled through my phone.

When I saw the latest post on the trendy gossip site of the day, I cringed, hoping like hell that Kaylee didn’t see it. But when she returned to the table, her eyes were bloodshot and her voice was shaky, I knew she’d seen it anyway.

“Did you see what you’re being tagged in all over X?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “Fucking assholes. Kaylee you can’t take that shit personally. People are evil.”

Since she’d punched out that pap, the media had been relentless in trying to figure out who she was. Since they hadn’t found anything scandalous to report about her, they’d turned their ugliness into criticizing her weight.

“They called us Kermit and Miss Piggy, West,” she said, her voice laced with sadness. I hated seeing that look on her face, and rage coursed through my veins that they’d hurt her.

“You have to ignore it, baby,” I said. “I know it’s hard at first. But it’ll get easier.”

“Easier? Like, this is just something I have to put up with forever?” Her bottom lip trembled. I reached over and grabbed her hand, flashing her a smile.

“You said forever. You want to be with me forever, Kaylee?” I winked at her and squeezed her hand.

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