Page 113 of Grasp The Moment

My head whirls around instantly. “Excuse me?!”

The beautiful and illustrious Eden Marlowe saidwhat?!

“Nina,” Derek warns, his eyes burning holes in the side of his godmother’s head as she breaks into another smile.

“I’m telling the truth, Dere. I’m happy that Georgia was denied; she has the potential to be an amazing designer, and if she’d been put into that internship with fifteen other designers, she’d end up stuck and working under me. Her designs deserve to shine,” she says, fixing her eyes back on me. Eden grins crookedly. “I want you to spend three weeks with me after you graduate. In those three weeks, I’ll teach you how to open your own empire. It’ll be just the two of us—and little Deli, if she wants to join in. How does that sound?”

My eyes widen, and I have to smooth a piece of hair behind my ear to make sure I heard her correctly. I pinch myself, yelping when the pain of it lurches through my skin.

This is real. Eden Marlowe wants tomentorme.

I’m going to be sick, but I don’t hesitate, don’t even think twice.

“I would love to.”

“Good.”

Slowly, Eden and my friends begin to disperse, leaving my family and Derek’s mom in the room.

“How do you feel, Peach?” Mom asks, crossing the room and engulfing me in her signature bear hug.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, a whine in my voice as I hug her back.

“Your husband got me a private plane.” She winks, taking a step back from me and looking me up and down from head to toe. “He also got someone else to join me…” she says, and by her tone, I don’t have to think twice to know who she’s talking about.

I can smell his cologne before I see him. They say that smell is like a keyhole to memory. Someone’s unlocked the past twenty years of my life and slapped me with them. He smells the same, wearing the aftershave that mom first bought him when they were in their teens—it makes me sick.

Richard Adams looks just like me. His hair, though graying, is blonde, unlike my brunette mother’s. He has that golden skin that people would kill for, and his eyes—they’re the exact same as mine.

“My Peach?—”

“Don’t.” My voice cracks, my eyes burning, as my chin wobbles.

I haven’t seen my father in months—haven’t talked to him in longer than that and then he shows up here, smiling. “Peach, I?—”

I suck in a breath, trembling, and Derek is at my back in an instant. His hand on my waist and the gentle squeeze he gives it ground me.

“You didn’t even say congratulations…” A watery smile breaks across my lips as I speak, my mouth dry and wet all the same as I force my tears back in.

I can’t cry. Not in front of him… notbecauseof him.

I refuse to.

“Oh, come on now, you didn’t even tell me you were dating. Then, I woke up to Alexus showing me your wedding photos on some popstar’s Instanet.”

“Instagram…” I sigh, but that isn’t the point. “You still knew. Your little girl—youronlygirl, got married, Dad. Theleast you could’ve done was call me. You had that bitch text and harass me, butyouwere radio silent. The same woman that you fucked in my room cared more than you did!”

My mom flinches, turning away from me. I mentally curse myself for the harshness of my words, but it had to be said. He cares now, but where was he this past year?

“Do not call her that. She is my wife?—”

“And I’m yourdaughter!”

Derek takes a step in front of me, covering my view of my father. “Did I fuck up by bringing him here? Do you want me to get rid of him?”

I want to say yes, but… no. I need to say this—to get these words that have been clouding my head for the past year out. I started to hate who I was because of this man. He’s my dad, and he hasn’t reached out to me once since the year started… It’s April.

He must see it in my eyes because he places a tender kiss on my temple and sidesteps me. He takes my mom out of the room, leaving the two of us.