I nodded. “And he kind of acts like one, right? With all the bodyguards. And security systems. And how he won’t even really tell me what exactly he does. He said it was better that my mom left because he couldn’t keep her safe. And didn’t you see my bodyguards’ faces? He had someone do that to them when they broke the rules. He…he…I think maybe my dad’s into some really bad stuff. And when we had lunch the other day he was talking about me taking over the business one day…”
“You can’t do that,” Matt said. “I don’t know if he’s a mobster or not, but like I said…he does shady stuff. Illegal stuff. You just said yourself it was dangerous.”
“I know. I wasn’t really thinking. I just…he seemed proud of me. I don’t know, it was stupid.”
“Nothing you do is stupid.” He pulled me onto his lap. “You should just ask him flat out. Or I can ask my dad…”
“No, I don’t want you to involve your dad. He’s already being really nice for letting me stay here. I’ll ask my dad about it.”
Matt pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Let’s forget about whether or not our parents are friends. Our wedding isn’t about them. It’s about us.”
I nodded. He was right. And yet…it kind of felt like the wedding was about me becoming a Caldwell as quickly as possible. “Are you sure you don’t want to marry me just so my last name isn’t Pruitt?”
“I want to marry you because my eyes always gravitate to you in a room. I’m only happy when I know that you’re happy too. You’re the only one that puts me in my place. You’re different than all the other girls I’ve ever met. You’re pure. You understand me. You’re so strong. When you cut me out of your life, I realized that I’m only really living when we’re together. You’re funny and smart and you even get along with my brother, which is rare.”
I laughed.
He reached out and cupped my cheek in his hand. “I can’t keep my hands to myself when I’m around you. I love you, Brooklyn.”
That was more than enough for me. I’d only been looking for a little validation and he’d given me a ton. This wasn’t about him not wanting me to be a Pruitt. This was about him desperately wanting me to be his. And I already was.
Chapter 24
Monday
I picked up my pace on the track. My feet finally felt back to normal and running made me feel back to normal too. Or maybe it was just the new Odegaard sneakers Mrs. Caldwell insisted on buying for me when I told her I liked running. Either way, it was so easy to breathe when air was flowing all around me. Normally running helped clear my head too. But no matter how much time ticked by on the track, I kept coming back to one thing. Or rather one word. Mobster.
I knew I needed to talk to my dad. But it was weird to just call him up and ask. I needed to meet with him in person. Mobster. I shook my head. I wasn’t a character from a crime movie. Did mobsters even really exist anymore? And certainly mobsters weren’t as nice as my dad. Although, no one saw the side of my dad that I did. I doubted even Isabella did.
Just thinking about her made me look over at the bleachers. Cupcake had been following me around more and more recently. Today he was sitting on the bleachers with a few friends and just…staring. I wanted to believe that he was just checking out my new outfit and hairstyle. But I knew the truth. He was spying. Reporting back to Isabella. I tried to not let it bother me. But I certainly wouldn’t be closing my eyes around him again any time soon. I didn’t need another target painted on my forehead.
Every day I’d been getting threatening notes. And every day I’d given them to Miller to pass on to my dad. The look of concern in his eyes terrified me. It made me thankful that I could take sanctuary at Matt’s house. But this weekend at the Halloween party, she’d be there too.
“Hey, newb!”
I stopped on the track and turned to see Felix running up to me.
“Felix!” I hadn’t seen him since homecoming. I’d sent him texts and tried to call. Kennedy had mentioned he might be abroad visiting his family. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him until I saw his smiling face. I ran over to him, throwing my arms around him, almost knocking him to the track.
He laughed. “Good to see you too,” he said.
“I missed you.”
“Yeah, you said that in your texts. Which pretty much flooded my inbox as soon as I landed at JFK.” He kissed my cheek.