Page 11 of You Girl (The Lucky Girls 3)

“Then what’s going on?”

I sigh and take another sip. “It's my family.”

“Don’t they approve?”

“They never said it in so many words if they do. But my parents weren’t very well-off. Growing up, I never had much, and although they did the best they could, with my mom being so sick, it’s never been enough. I’m worried that by retiring, I’m sentencing them back to that.”

I did a lot for my parents when I started earning big money. I helped them into a better place, I covered whatever their health insurance wouldn’t, and I tried to make them as comfortable as possible. After all the hell they’d been through, they deserved it. At least, my mom did. My dad and I don’t see eye to eye but I can’t punish him and save my mom at the same time.

Jackson frowns. “It’s not your responsibility to keep them above water; you know that, right?”

I nod. “I know, I know. But with my mom’s health, I can’t expect them to just keep going. I want to help them where I can. I just worry that they’ll be disappointed in me. My dad doesn’t think the restaurant business is a good idea.”

“He doesn’t think anything you do is a good idea,” Jackson points out.

He’s right. My dad isn’t happy with anything I do. But I still hate letting him down, even though I should know by now it has nothing to do with what I achieve in my life and everything to do with me as a person.

Jackson thinks for a moment while we sip on our beer bottles.

“I think you should do what makes you happy. Your dad should be happy with what you choose. It’s his job to be proud of you.”

I snort, “It’s not that simple.”

My father resents me. He never said so, but it's always there, between the lines. Even after I started helping them, I couldn’t do much to change his mind. Mom nearly died giving birth to me because of her heart. They never planned to get pregnant—the doctor warned them against the strain it would put on my mom. When they found out, she wanted to keep me, even when my dad was against it.

These were things I picked up in conversation. Neither of them ever said shit like that out loud.

But it's not necessary to put it into words for me to know that no matter what I do, my dad won’t be happy. The first time he really thought I was worth my salt was when I was able to cover medical bills he just couldn’t foot himself.

I don’t tell Jackson any of this. I’m used to being rich and famous now. I know full well that the paparazzi will mention my family if they know, and I don’t trust anyone to keep their mouth shut.

All it takes is one drunken conversation with the wrong person.

“You’ll figure it out, man,” Jackson says. “You always do.”

I nod. He’s right. I do always figure it out. I just hate that I always have to figure it out alone.

“What about that woman you took home the other night?”

“The one two weeks ago?” I ask.

Jackson nods. “Yeah. Did you talk to her after?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t call her.”

Jackson whistles. “Not how you usually do this, but I’m proud.”

“Yeah?” It’s not my style at all, and I hate leaving someone hanging like that. But when I finally remembered I had to call her, it was a week after our night together. My mom nearly didn’t make it and I couldn’t think about anything else.

I felt stupid. I waited so long and figured it wasn’t going to work out, anyway. Relationships just don’t work for me.

“It’s better being single, but you know that,” Jackson says.

I nod. I usually agree with him. I nearly got married once when I was fresh out of college. She slept with someone else. It shattered me, and it took me years to rebuild myself. It reminded me very few people can be trusted.

And that was the end of my dating life. I was too busy with the NFL, traveling, training, doing everything to stay at the top to think about having a woman in my life. And now that I’m starting a new career, I’m right there again. It’s pointless calling Natalie now after I left her hanging this long, and I know it won’t go anywhere—I’m in the habit of not letting it become anything serious.

She was just a good night, not even a blip on the radar that is my life.

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