The Crush Ward Penelope (best novels to read for beginners .txt) 📖

I rubbed my temples. “She is...but that’s because she’s had to handle a lot from a young age. That doesn’t mean she’s ready to be messing around with a dude in his thirties. She hasn’t had a lot of boyfriends.”

My mother tilted her head and smirked. “You seem especially vested in her well-being.”

“I am, because I care about her,” I said, feeling caught with my pants down.

Mom wasn’t dumb.

“Are you sure there’s nothing more?” she asked.

One thing I could never do was lie to my mother’s face. So I had to get the hell out of the situation. I wasn’t about to admit I had inappropriate feelings for Nathan’s sister, even if that was the truth.

“Breakfast was delicious.” My chair skidded against the floor as I stood up. “Thank you.”

“Ah, the famous eat and run. I remember that from back when I used to confront you about smoking pot in high school or whether you were having sex.”

“Drop it, okay?” I dashed out the door to head to work.

Yeah. She knows.

• • •

That evening, I forced myself to show my face at Nathan’s. I couldn’t disappear from the house forever, so I’d suck it up and spend my first night back there tonight.

He had just gotten back from the dealership when I arrived. I hadn’t seen Farrah’s car outside, so I assumed she wasn’t home.

He opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. How are things with your parents?”

A wave of guilt hit me. “Dad’s doing much better now.”

“Good to hear.”

“How’s the job going?” I asked.

“Really well. I sold an Escape today.”

“That’s amazing, man.”

“Yeah. I never imagined I’d end up with something I liked better than my last job, but this proves everything happens for a reason.” He chuckled. “Now I sound like Farrah.”

The mention of her name made my pulse race.

I did my best to act casual. “How is Farrah?”

“I haven’t seen much of her over the past week or so.”

Hmm… “That’s probably because she’s going around town with some guy.”

His forehead wrinkled. “What guy?”

It was wrong of me to rat her out, but my selfish side wanted Nathan to know about this. Aside from the fact that I was likely the most dangerous man Farrah had nearly gotten involved with, we needed to make sure she wasn’t getting herself into trouble.

“My mother said she saw her with a guy at Dean’s.”

“Really? Well, she never mentioned it to me, but I’m probably the last person she’d tell.”

“I’m only telling you so you can keep an eye out, make sure she’s not running with the wrong kind of people.”

“I appreciate that. You know I’ll be on it.”

I nodded. Despite my best efforts, I’d likely be on it, too.

Chapter 11

Farrah

Dr. Stein scribbled something on a piece of paper. “Why do you think you decided to talk to someone at this point in your life? It’s been a while since your parents passed. Why not sooner?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer, but I did my best to figure it out. “It’s always been hard for me to open up to anyone, in general,” I began. “But recently I’ve felt very out of control in terms of my emotions—and my actions. I feel like I need someone to keep me in check. I haven’t ever felt quite like this—not even right after my parents died. I’ve come close to making some rash decisions that could’ve been very damaging to the people I love.”

About a week after my last encounter with Jace, I’d decided to make an appointment with a therapist. It had been a long time coming, something I probably should’ve done right after my parents died. But I was always afraid of what would happen, that all of the raw emotions would be too overwhelming if brought to the surface. But after getting up at The Iguana, I had a newfound confidence.

Dr. Alicia Stein had been recommended by one of my co-workers. She had a nice demeanor and was very patient. This was my third meeting with her. The first couple of sessions had been spent talking about my parents’ death and working through some of those feelings. Today she’d shifted the focus to my current state of affairs.

“Tell me what’s going on with you now. The last time we spoke, you had just met someone online.”

“Yeah…Colton. He actually dropped me off here. He’s really nice. I’ve only been seeing him for a couple of weeks, though.”

“You’ve obviously grown close to him in a short amount of time if he’s driving you to your therapy sessions.”

“Actually, my car is a piece of crap and stopped working again, so he was nice enough to offer me a ride. It wasn’t like I needed his support or anything. We’re not at that level. But he’s been very supportive, in general, and I did tell him I was coming to see you.”

“How is the situation at home?” She looked down at her notes. “With your brother, Nathan, and…Jace? That’s his name, correct? Your brother’s friend?”

“Yes. Good memory.”

“Well, I have it written down.” She smiled. “Was just trying to read my own handwriting.”

“Yes. Of course.” I shifted in my seat. “I haven’t mentioned this before, but there’s a bit of a story there with Jace. Pretty sure it has a lot to do with why I came to see you when I did.” I paused. “Something happened between us.”

Her eyes widened.

I spent the next fifteen minutes telling Dr. Stein about my feelings for Jace over the years and ended at the part where we’d kissed. Aside from Kellianne, I hadn’t talked about him with anyone—besides my mother before she died.

“So…” I said, “I have to wonder whether jumping into something with Colton is such a good idea, given how recently everything went down with Jace. The problem is, I know nothing can ever happen there. Jace made that crystal clear. There’s no choice but to move on.”

“Have you spoken