Rewind (A Perfect Forever Novella) by Susan Ward Read Free Book Online Page B

why don’t you seem great?”
    I shrug. “Where’s Mom?”
    It hardly seems possible but those black eyes, so like my own, sharpen even more. “Chrissie’s out. And if you want Chrissie that means something is bothering you and you don’t need money. I’ll listen if you want to talk.”
    I stare out at the ocean and pretend to give that one consideration. Chrissie? Why doesn’t he ever call Mom, Mom? It’s almost like code to remind me that he will always come first with my mother.
    There are things about my dad I’ll never get. Maybe I’d understand him if he’d been here my whole life. Maybe I’d understand him if my mom explained the history. They’ve loved each other for decades, but have been married only six years. There is so much in my parents’ complicated past that they will never share with me.
    I find my dad smiling at me, but his eyes continue to probe me. It’s a very intimidating look. Like he can read me. See inside me.
    People say we have the same eyes. The same stare. The same complex personality. The same intensity. But there is love in my dad’s eyes and I see it.
    I lower my gaze to stare at my feet. Maybe he calls Mom “Chrissie” because he still thinks of her as the young girl she was when they met. That’s a nice thought. Sweet and romantic. I like it better this way.
    I smile. “Who am I more like? You or Mom?”
    My dad closes his eyes and shakes his head. “No, not stepping into that one. You know the answer. Why ask?”
    I shrug. “No reason.”
    I hear the French doors open. I look back at the house to see my seven-year old sister, Khloe, hurry across the yard. She throws herself into my dad’s arms for a big, shaky bear hug. I watch their comfortable affection and suddenly feel just a touch sad. I’ve never had their kind of closeness with my dad. I try. He tries. For some reason, we’re just not there yet.
    It’s Khloe who pulls away first, to sit back on her heels and look indignantly toward Dad. “I’ve been waiting forever. Everything is set up. Why didn’t you come to my room, Daddy?”
    He drops a kiss on her nose. “Kaley stopped in for a visit. Aren’t you going to say hello to your sister?”
    Khloe turns to me. “Hello.” She exhales impatiently. “Now can we go play Barbie’s?”
    I bite my lower lip. That one I’ll never get used to. My dad playing Barbie’s on the floor of Khloe’s bedroom. I wonder if we’d be this close if my dad had been around to play Barbie’s with me.
    To my shock, I realize I’m crying. I feel the tears rolling down my cheeks, and suddenly they are coming faster and stronger. God, it’s been an emotional day.
    “Run inside, Khloe. Wait for me. I’ll be there soon,” I hear my dad say, a note of concern woven into his British accent.
    Khloe gives me a hard stare with her wide blue eyes that so resembles Mom’s, then scampers away without argument. I brush at the tears. That’s one thing I’ll give my dad. He knows how to command without effort.
    He swings his legs off the chaise and sits facing me. “Why are you crying, Kaley? What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, Pop. I’ve just got a lot going on. It’s a bit overwhelming.”
    “Work or relationship?”
    God, I don’t want to have a relationship discussion with my dad. Not with Alan Manzone: rock icon, billionaire, and reformed man-whore. He plundered my mom’s heart for three decades like a pirate raiding Caribbean treasure. I can’t talk to him about this.  Not even if he is my father. Crap, why isn’t Mom here?
    “It’s not worth talking about,” I say, unwilling to meet his stare.
    “Then why are you crying?”
    “I don’t know. Does it matter?”
    He moves from his chaise to mine. “I’m stepping into that one. You sound like your mother and I’m not buying it. Tell me what’s wrong. We’ll think it through together.”
    For some reason instead of answering, I turn into my father’s chest, burying my face against him. His arms hold me in a