Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“You don’t have your own house,” he argued in his last-ditch effort. “No judge will approve her to live in a room with you. She has to have her own room.”
I bit my lip. I hadn’t known that. I didn’t even know if it was true. I looked to Whitt with wide eyes. Because I did not have a place for her to live on her own. I was just going to move her into my room. I didn’t care what else happened as long as I got her away from here.
Whitt met my gaze and frowned. As if he could read the terror on my face at the thought that Dad might be right.
“They can live with me then,” Whitt said without missing a beat. “I have two extra bedrooms. One of those belongs to Bailey as long as she needs it.”
My dad laughed in his face. “Evie Jo would die before moving in with a boyfriend. She’s too independent for that.”
Whitt shot me a look. A question in his eyes.
I still couldn’t believe he’d even said it. Was he serious? Or was he just saying it to get at my dad?
The shocking thing was that despite my dad being right, I’d never considered moving in with a boyfriend. But I didn’t feel that way about Whitt. That felt right. That felt like something I wanted to do.
“You’re wrong,” I told my dad. “We’ll move in with Whitt.”
He shook his head. “Wow. I see you’ve thought of everything.” Finally, he sighed and met Bailey’s gaze. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes,” she said desperately. “I want to be with Eve. Dad, just…let me go.”
He nodded. “It’s a bad idea, but if this is what you want and I can’t change your mind, then fine. Go move to Lubbock.” He met my gaze. “But you do it right, Evie Jo. You get her enrolled in school. You keep her clean. Okay?”
“I will,” I told him, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest with shock.
It had worked.
It had really worked.
I almost didn’t believe it when Dad stepped back out of the trailer and left us for the last time.
35
Whitton
“You didn’t have to do that,” Eve said once her dad was well and truly gone.
I blinked at her in surprise. “Do what?”
“Offer to have us stay with you.”
“Even if I didn’t have to, I wanted to. I want you to live with me, Eve.”
“We haven’t been dating that long.”
He smirked. “Somehow, there is no prerequisite for how long a couple has to be together before moving in together.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel early?”
“Only if you don’t want to. Otherwise, I will lie through my teeth for you and move Bailey into your room with Piper and Blaire.”
Bailey cleared her throat behind us. “Uh, I do not want that if there’s another option.”
Eve laughed and shoved her. “Go finish packing!”
“Fine. Fine,” Bailey said. She slunk off to her room.
“You really want this?” she asked shyly.
“Yes.” I took her hands into mine and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I want you. I thought that was obvious. I’ve been the one pushing for this from the start. It’s you that I’ve had to convince. Are you convinced?”
She grinned. “I suppose I am.”
I tugged her forward, capturing her lips in another searing kiss. I’d been fucked up, thinking I was going to lose her. And I was never going to take for granted having her in my arms. If I could throw her over my shoulder and take her to the nearest bed, I would, but we didn’t have the time…or the privacy.
Instead, I reluctantly released her and helped move the rest of Bailey’s stuff into the truck. Her 4Runner was packed to the brim.
Eve patted her car twice. “She’ll get the job done.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t break down with all the extra weight.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not going to happen. Where’d you get this truck anyway?”
“It happens to belong to Jensen Wright.”
“What?” She laughed. “How the hell do you have Jensen’s truck?”
“That is a long story. And has a lot to do with Colton accidentally throwing a rager, being forced to clean up the party alone.”
Her eyes widened. “Does that mean he’s not going back to New York?”
“Nope. He’s staying in Lubbock for the year.”
“Wow.”
“So, he and Bailey will be at the same high school.”
“Who is this?” Bailey asked. “A hot guy?”
“He’s fifteen,” Eve said.
Bailey sighed. “Fine. Can’t help a girl out.”
“Let’s focus on academics, eh?” Eve said with an eye roll. “And maybe the volleyball team.”
“No way will some rando volleyball team that doesn’t know me let me try out when school has already started.”
I shrugged. “I know someone who works at the school. We’ll see what we can do.”
Bailey looked hopeful for a second, and it warmed my heart that she could still hope.