Page 67 of Reconcile
“What?” I’m in shock. I go back to the conversation my father had with me right before everything went to shit. Her father hated me. He didn’t want my spawn growing in her belly. No way. “That can’t be right.”
“Trust me. They were thrilled. My mother started planning our wedding right away. Down to the people who would be invited and who would be the most jealous.”
I think my mouth is hanging wide open, but I don’t even care. “So, what happened?”
Her eyes grow darker, and it seems she’s lost in time, going back there with them. “I told them I’d rather set myself on fire than marry you.”
“Harsh, Pipes.”
She smiles. “Sorry. I’d just seen my sister naked on top of you. I hated you. Or at least I wanted to.”
“I’m so fucking sorry.”
She takes a deep breath, her voice cracking with emotion as she goes on with her story, “They were furious. Tried every threat they could think of so I’d come to my senses. Said they’d cut me off. Said they’d send me to a nunnery, but I didn’t care. I was eighteen, and I wasn’t budging.”
“So, you cut yourself off?”
She shrugs her small shoulder, looking young and vulnerable. “They couldn’t completely do that. You know, for image purposes. But I’d been accepted at Brown University, and they told me they wouldn’t allow that because they knew too many people there. That if I insisted on carrying a bastard child, I had to go somewhere inconspicuous. I couldn’t come home to visit and basically had to keep Audrey a dirty little secret.” My chest aches, seeing her pain as she wipes a tear away. “I knew I needed a college education if I wanted any shot at making a good life for Audrey, so I caved. I let them hire a nanny and pay for expenses while I went to a small private college. I know most girls in my position wouldn’t have even gotten that, but I refused to feel guilty. I needed to do whatever I could for her.”
“You’re amazing, Piper.”
She snorts, “I had a house paid for by Mommy and Daddy. An education paid for by them. A full-time nanny paid for by them. I was a spoiled brat even then. But I did try my best to stay with Audrey without the nanny’s help any time I wasn’t in class. I didn’t care. I wanted to be her mother.”
“You are. You were.”
“I didn’t want her raised by nannies.”
“Why didn’t you come to me? I’d have helped.”
She shakes her head. “I hated you. I didn’t want you to know about Audrey. I thought I was a fool who let you trick me, and I was worried the bitterness inside me would hurt Audrey. I wanted to do it by myself, Sawyer. When I graduated, I fired the nanny and moved here. I don’t accept anything from my parents, and I send them a check every month. I don’t want my education to belong to them. I don’t want to be indebted to them.”
“So, that’s why you lived in that small apartment despite making decent money?”
She confirms that with a nod. “I’m trying to pay it all back. I don’t want to owe anyone. I want Audrey raised the way I always dreamed of growing up. Happy.”
I smile and press a kiss to her lips. “I want that to. You’ve done an incredible job.”
She smiles too, not pulling away from me. “I’m sorry I hid her from you.”
“I’m sorry I fucked it all up. I love you, Piper.”
She gasps, “Sawyer.”
“Let me earn it back,” I breathe against her lips, and she nods her head slowly.
“Okay.”
Easier said than done. But I swear on everything, I will earn her trust and her heart back, no matter how long it takes.
40
PIPER
It’s been a little over a month since we told Audrey that Sawyer is her father, and I hate to say it, but everything feels pretty perfect. There’s been no drama. Sawyer is the model father. And I’m not sure what we are, but I know he’s trying with us too.
I want so badly to give him my heart, but I’m held back by the past. I don’t want to be a fool again. Still, with his hands caressing my back as I kiss him softly, our skin slick with sweat after making love in his bed, it’s easy to get lost.
My body is still trembling with the aftershocks of several orgasms, but it’s like I can’t get enough. I drag my fingers over his defined abs and smile against his mouth. “I really need to take a shower.”
