Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) by Suzanne Halliday Read Free Book Online Page A

of crazy.”
    She heard him sigh heavily, the sound making her heart clutch. “Brynn, sweetheart. You know that Mom and I are as proud of you as any parents could be. What you’ve managed to pull off with the bakery and then the tearoom is mighty impressive.”
    “Thanks Dad.”
    “But here’s the thing. When you went off and hid in upstate Pennsylvania, we thought it was just a reaction to the divorce. Roger treated you horribly and nobody blamed you for needing to pull back.”
    This time it was Brynn who sighed. “Where’s this leading Dad?”
    He didn’t even bother to hold back and consider her feelings. “Daughter, what the hell are you doing? All you do is work and from what we can tell you have nothing that even remotely resembles a personal life.”
    “Dad! For God’s sake. Building a successful business takes a lot of hard work. I don’t have time for a social life. Sheesh.”
    “That’s bullshit, and you know it. When was the last time you went on a date?”
    Oh my fucking God. Really? “I do not have time for such nonsense,” she spat out.
    “Make the time Brynn. All work and no play…okay?”
    She rolled her eyes and clutched the phone so hard it was a wonder it didn’t crack. “I most certainly do not need another man in my life to complete me.”
    “No one said you did.” Shit. She walked right into that one. “Look honey, just because your marriage crashed and burned doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again. And if you don’t want to try again, that’s fine. But cutting off every other man on the planet because one asshole did you wrong is no way to live. You’re young, beautiful, and successful. Don’t you want more in your life than just working dawn to dusk?”
    Groaning she tried not to fall back on one of her rehearsed responses. “Dad, listen to me. Being married is just not my thing. You guys and Nana trying to make me do something I obviously suck at is just so wrong.”
    “You didn’t suck at being married. Just chose the wrong guy, that’s all. Don’t you want a family, Brynn? I mean, what’s all that success for if all you do is sit in that old house and listen to silence?”
    “Those grandchildren you and Mom want so bad are going to have to come from Rhiann or Charlie. Seriously Dad. Men are too much trouble—present company excluded. I’m much better on my own. It’s the way I’m built. Period.”
    Robert Baron-Wilde snorted in frustration tinged with unabashed love and affection for his daughters. “You’re joking, right? With you and your I don’t need a man shtick , Rhiann with her crazy New York life, and Charlie with her hippy dippy new age beliefs, your poor mother and I don’t stand a chance of having any grandkids to enjoy once we retire.”
    Ding, ding, ding. A bell went off in Brynn’s head. “Ohhhh. So that’s where all this nonsense with Nana and her estate came from. You guys are trying to tag team me into popping out some bay-bays. You do know how ironic this is, I suppose?”
    “In what way?”
    “Dad, I love you and Mom. We all feel the same way. Rhiann, Charlize, and me. We know how lucky we are to have parents who have always been there for us and loved each of us to death. But you can’t raise us to believe in ourselves and to never let being female define where we wanted to go or what we wanted to achieve in life and then suddenly start tapping your foot and looking at the calendar while you and Mom pick out grandparent t-shirts.”
    “Touché sweetheart,” he chuckled. “I see your point about the irony. But…it’s all connected if you really think about it. What we wanted—what we want —is for all of you girls to have the best life possible. Having a family and being with someone to share life’s amazing journey is part of that. And while I’m preaching, you need to hire a bakery assistant, or better yet, take the community college up on their offer to have students apprentice with you.”
    “Oh good Lord,” she