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"Mr Pierce," Graha his opposite ar ar into his coffee Sugar Chloe would have a cow "According to Emma, you were the most talented actor in the School Pride cast And she doesn’t i," Grahaht she was the most talented" I could track the flush that spreads across irl as she spins the wand streamers in a blur of color "And who do we have here?"

"This is Cara"

My father leans his elbows on his knees "Are you a princess, Cara?"

"I’odmother See?" She shucks off Grahas are effed up!" People at nearby tables turn and I bites, his lips twitching "Less shocking co out of a four-year-old than the alternative"

"Would you likehow trustworthy I appear to be, I think, before scooting closer and turning around I pull the translucent wings away fro the wire supports and ads are beautiful"

She nods "They’re rabs her wand from the table "Close your eyes" I obey "Now make a wish" Into the eenuine wish in a long tiain Alone

She touches the wand to ranted"

I openDad if he wants a wish, too Graharanting abilities are legendary"

I s the remnants of foam and espresso

A minute later, Cara peers into my face, her small hands on my knees "What did you wish?" She smells like chocolate, the evidence of which riht I wasn’t supposed to tell"

She considers this for a moment "Then how can I ic "You’re a very astute fairy godht trek around the two tables, stopping in front of ain She chews her lower lip "What’s asoot?"

"Astute It ain, without a hint of sness And then she turns to Graham with a random question, prefaced by a not-so-randoazes atI can do to conceal my astonishment I couldn’t be more wide-eyed and dumbfounded

His eyes fall to her "You don’t have to like broccoli There’s lots of other green stuff to eat But maybe you’ll like it someday, when you're older"

She wrinkles her nose "I don’t think so"

"Grahae," Dad says once we’re in the taxi Though I know Grahae, I can’t respond I’m still so in shock that I can barely focus He never hinted at this He returned ho, but that doesn’t exactly say, I’ve got a kid, does it?

"Why don’t I cancel that dinner with Ted" He takes ether We’re in New York! You shouldn’t be sitting alone in a hotel roo to be living here in a fewin occasionally, or I’ll go bankrupt in a year You never get to see Ted Go out I’ve got this alone-in-a-hotel-roo out the"Cara rey and ready to question everything, classify everything, using ic to make the world perfect Now look at you--in this city, visiting college ca yourself I’m proud of you, Emma"

I lean my head on his shoulder,him is easier now, so close to separation We’ve found each other again, and feeling bitter won’t bring back the years we’ve wasted The years I hadn’t verbalized my pain to him The years he hadn’t seen it in my eyes What’s done is done, and all that o from here

Chapter 46

REID

The premier of School Pride is next month, preceded by the inevitable red carpet events, talk show appearances and interviews I’ve seen enough of the final product to know it’s good In the date night genre, in the hopeless roenre, this movie will be hot

It’s over with Emma I know this, butthrough everything I did wrong, looking for a way to repair the total clusterfuck of decisions I ht I shouldn’t have baited Brooke like that And I sure as shit shouldn’t have taken that girl back to the hotel

Is it possible that I was in love with Emma? I don’t know Am I even capable of that emotion? I don’t know that, either

What I told her lastif I said the coent than the attraction between us, but I enjoyed the afternoons she spent inout and watched a her near We didn’t get a chance to discover what could have been, because in the end I treated her like every girl I’ve ever coirls ant me want the Bad Boy That persona isn’t just an act, it’s who I a anyone other than who I’ve become, and maybe that’s what Emma finally saw