Chapter 20

“We’re moving you to Dallas,” Jolette said, a minute in to her unexpected visit.

Walker had held me all night after my emotional collapse before leaving to go work out this morning.

But I was feeling very…exposed at the moment. Like all of my work keeping my emotions under wraps the last two years had been destroyed.

“What?” I almost slapped myself because there was no way I’d heard her right.

“Marco and I have decided L.A. isn’t the place for you. You’ve been floundering here. One weekend in Dallas and you transformed. Look at the blush in your cheeks.” She gestured to me as if I was able to see myself. “It’s clear this is the right move.”

I opened my mouth to say…to say what?

It felt like kismet almost. Like the universe had taken the wish I was fighting against, and wouldn’t admit I wanted…and was somehow giving it to me.

‘Why Dallas?’ I murmured.

“Doesn’t your cousin have a house there? Isn’t that why they held the wedding there? And besides, it’s where you grew up. Besides L.A., it’s the closest thing to home you’ve ever known.”

I frowned, because she’d never cared about that before. A sly smile crept up on her lips.

“And isn’t that where that boy you’re seeing will be living?”

My heartbeat spiked. It was the first time she’d mentioned Walker to me since the weekend in Dallas. I’d been waiting for it every day. And here it was.

“That is where he’s living. But I—I just met him,” I told her.

She was telling me what I wanted to hear—or at least what I thought I wanted to hear…but she was almost being nice.

I didn’t have a single memory of Jolette being nice to me. Not even when I’d sang that first day and caught Marco’s eye. What the hell was going on?

“Well, regardless. Let’s think of Dallas as a fresh start. If you can turn it around there, who knows…maybe the conservatorship won’t be necessary anymore.”

I was dreaming. That had to be what was happening.

“I’m sorry—I still don’t understand. You’ve barely let me leave in two years. And now…now you’re just letting me go?” I whispered, very suspicious. Last time I’d thought she was being reasonable, I’d ended up drugged with my entire life taken away.

What was the catch?

She sighed, and sat down on the couch, looking dare I say…tired?

“Nothing has gone to plan these past few years. And…you’ve won. You’ve quit life. You haven’t cared about anything…I’m just…done fighting with you,” Jolette said stiffly, her face blank as she stared at me.

It was happening. Hope was creeping into my chest, set to destroy me once again.

But fuck. I wanted it. I’d refused to admit it to Walker last night, but I did want it. The thought of actually escaping the suffocating grip of L.A…I hadn’t even let myself dream it.

“Do I have a choice?” I finally said, when other words failed me, even though I regretted them as soon as they came out of my mouth.

“Do you want a choice?”

She got up from the couch, letting that question stew in the air, and for the first time since this whole hell had started…I wasn’t sure.

Jolette left without another word, leaving me to stress over what had happened.

It only took a little bit for a small smile to finally tug at the corners of my lips.

I picked up the phone and called Walker.

“Hi, angel,” he said, his sexy voice hitting me all the way to my core.

“You still want me to move to Dallas?” I asked hesitantly, nervous excitement building inside me.

“Are you serious?” he growled. “Because this isn’t a funny joke, baby.”

“I’m serious. I’m moving to Dallas.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” he swore.

“This is me diving in headfirst,” I whispered, and I could hear his answering sigh of relief like it was a physical caress.

“I’m diving right in there with you.”

Walker

I watched Olivia sleep, marveling at her perfection, counting the freckles on her olive skin, tracing her lips with my gaze….falling more and more into obsession.

She looked so peaceful right now, all the sadness and anxiety bled out of her.

But that peace would disappear when she woke up. I knew that for a fact.

There was a storm inside of her, and although she may have sounded excited about moving today, I knew that her mood could change with the wind.

I’d held her last night, saw the misery in her eyes, the hesitation…the lack of belief in me…in us.

I’d said this before, but it was more true than ever. She was a flight risk, always on the edge of running away.

It hadn’t been a long time, the rational part of my brain was well aware of that…but there was a part of me that wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to trust.

Sometimes broken things stayed broken no matter what you did.

My mom was proof of that.

I wasn’t prone to panic, but there was nothing that got me closer to the edge than imagining her leaving me.

As I lay there beside her, my resolve settled in my chest.

It wasn’t enough for her to move.

It wasn’t even enough for her to move in with me.

It wouldn’t even be enough for me to get her to marry me.

I needed to tie her to me forever…and there was only one real way to do that.

I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her up. Making my way to the bathroom, my steps were silent against the cool tile floor. The small package of birth control pills sat on the counter—she kept it out so she never forgot to take it.

I stared at the packet for a long moment, knowing this was way different than poking a few holes in a condom.

I reached for the pills with a steady hand though, carefully replacing the contents with sugar pills I’d gotten online, the act feeling completely exhilarating. I needed to research how long it took for birth control to wear off.

Looks like there was going to be a new “Daddy” in the Circle of Trust.

And it was not Lincoln Daniels.

I made sure to put the packet back exactly where she’d had it, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. Satisfaction and peace.

A snort slipped out of me and I wondered if I’d actually gone mad.

Because I was totally pulling the goalie so to speak.

Look at me go.

I returned to the bed, a big crazy grin on my face as I slipped beneath the covers and nuzzled into her warm, perfect body for a second before I propped myself up on my arm, and continued to watch her sleep.

The night stretched on, and as I lay there beside her, I let the madness settle in, becoming who I was.

This girl was mine.