Page 131 of Love Me

“I have to go. My father called.”

“I’ll give you some time alone and then meet you there.”

I drive quickly to his place. My father waits for me in the backyard. A table is set for two, filled with a breakfast lover’s dream.

I eat a pancake and try not to blush. Every movement reminds me that Kaden was inside of me––such an addictive soreness.

“You look different.”

I choke on the pancake as he looks deep in thought at the manicured and lush garden surrounding us.

“Your mother will be disappointed in me. I focused more on finding her than being the father you needed me to be.”

“It’s okay, Father.”

“No, it’s not. But that will change. I want us to be an intact family.”

It breaks my heart. He sees me as a little girl, not a woman who already has plans of her own. I hope my mother and father find their way back to each other.

When we finish breakfast, we chat and stroll through the garden.

“I scheduled an appointment for you. Dr. Camden is a psychiatrist who specializes in past trauma, and she uses hypnosis. She’s an expert in her field. She might be able to help recover your memories.”

“Good.” It’s time that I discover exactly what happened on that day.

Please, Mom, be alive. Sadly, the prayer is more for him than me.

“I dragged this one out for too long. There’s something I need to tell you about Kaden,” he says but the tires of a bike scatter pebbles around us before coming to a stop. Kaden removes his helmet, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. He looks so damn good.

“I know, Father.”

I hop off the bike and pull her to my side. Sebastian takes us in. “I see you’ve settled your differences.”

Hand in hand, we walk back to the house and enter his office.

“I am still mad at you. You should have told me sooner. But it is what it is,” Celine says, her voice laced with sad acceptance.

“Honey, Kaden is your blind spot, and he wanted to help.” She flinches. I am about to say something to him when he raises his hands.

“You’re on edge when it comes to one another. You can turn that into a strength, or it will weaken you. I’m still debating. So, this is your chance to prove which way it is.”

“We won’t disappoint you,” I say. It’s impossible. The thought that this will end and that I can be with her keeps me sane.

Cillian comes inside and Celine rushes over to him. He plants a kiss on her head. I can see the hunger she has for parental love, having to go to someone else because her own father is too busy trying to save a woman who may be dead. The only person I can think of with that motive would be my father. Long ago, he had been obsessed with Celine’s mother before she fell for Sebastian. But what would my father gain now from holding her mother captive? Besides, someone would have talked by now or let something slip.

“You could have told me,” she says, voice ringing with accusation and hurt.

“I still had to come to terms with that myself. But I’m sorry if that hurt you.”

Cillian’s even more protective of her than her father is. He eyes me with disapproval, and I smirk. I am not going anywhere, so get used to me.

Seconds later, the door opens, and Mia and Hunter step inside.

“You’re going to work together,” Cillian informs us.

“You don’t say.”

Hunter is childish in his sarcasm. I cross my arms over my chest, and everything in me warms up when Celine stands by my side. She chooses me in a room full of people. This is their damn wake-up call. We’ll never stop choosing each other.

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