Page 81 of By His Vow
I hold her tighter. “Let me take care of you.”
It takes her a long while to reply and when she does, it knocks me sideways.
“I don’t know how to let you do that,” she confesses quietly—so quietly, I have to wonder if she was hoping the words might get swept away by the light breeze before they hit my ears.
“We can bail on the wake, if you like,” I offer. “We could go and do something else instead.”
“I can’t,” she says sadly, lowering her head. “Everyone expects?—”
“Fuck everyone, Tatum. This isn’t about them. It’s about you.”
“No,” she says, a bite of anger entering her tone. “It isn’t about me. It’s about him. It’s always about him.”
My lips part to respond, but for once, I don’t have any words.
She’s right.
So painfully right it cuts down to my soul.
“Okay, we’ll go. But the second you’re done, tell me and we’re out of there.”
She nods once before twisting out of my hold and marching toward the parking lot.
I watch her go for a beat, in total awe of her strength.
Tatum Warner is a force to be reckoned with, and something tells me I’ve already fallen under her spell.
21
TATUM
The warmth of Kingston’s hand resting on the small of my back continues to radiate through me.
It’s been the same since the moment he first held my hand at the committal. He hasn’t left my side once. His support has been unwavering. And I’m not sure how to feel about that.
I thought it was going to be Lori who held me up today. Never in a million years did I think I’d be craving Kingston’s strength instead.
“Here you go,” the girl in question says, passing me another glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” I say in a rush, immediately lifting it to my lips. The bubbles pop against my lips before coating my tongue and then rushing down my throat.
It’s my fourth glass…possibly my fifth.
As much as I don’t have any intention of getting blind drunk to deal with all this bullshit small talk with people who may or may not be lying about actually liking my father, there is no way I can do it sober.
Kingston continues to talk to the couple before us as if he’s known them all his life. What do I know? Maybe he has. I don’t recognize them, although they seem to know exactly who I am.
Miles is currently with Michael, schmoozing with Warner Group’s senior management. And Mom…well, she got so drunk that she had to be taken to bed for a lie down about thirty minutes ago.
A few people have started to leave. Hell knows that I’m more than ready, but despite not wanting to be here, it seems wrong for me to be one of the first to disappear, especially with our host out of commission.
“Not gonna lie, Tate, this is a fucking snoozefest,” Lori teases as she looks around the room.
“Pretty sure that’s standard after a funeral, Lor.”
“Yeah, I know. I just thought…I dunno, all these millionaires might be a little more…charismatic.”
I can’t help but laugh. Lori might have been a big part of my life for quite a few years now, but she hasn’t actually dived into this side of it. She’s attended a handful of events with me, but there is usually some kind of entertainment as a distraction. This right now is…well, dull.