Page 86 of Scandalous Contract

“This man,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes for a completely different reason than before.

I slid deeper into my covers while holding his letter to my chest. This letter wasn’t some grand gesture or grand declaration of love. But it was just what I needed today.

Because you’re worth it.

That line kept floating through my head. I was worth it. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that. I knew it already. Yet hearing it, well, reading it, felt good. It was what I needed to read today.I’m worth it!

“Thank you, Julian,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

I fell asleep with his letter resting against my chest, over my heart. When I woke up, for a second, I thought it was morning. But the digital clock on my nightstand read 10:03 p.m. I’d only been asleep for a few hours.

Now, I was wide awake and knew I wouldn’t be falling back to sleep any time soon, which was fine since I didn’t have work tomorrow. I reached for my phone and noticed a missed call from India. I called her back immediately. She answered on the fifth ring.

“Omg, Mom! Why didn’t you answer your phone? I thought you had died.”

“Dramatic much?” I said, laughing.

“Well, you didn’t answer, and I got worried.”

“I was sleeping.”

“That early?”

“Yes, that early. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted to call you and talk.”

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

“Positive,” she told me. “I just wanted to hear your voice. And when you didn’t answer, I called Grandma to talk with her.”

“What was my mother doing?”

“Listening to that Blues music she likes and baking cookies for the church bake sale. I told her I wished she could send me some of her sweet potato pie and cream cheese cookies. She told me that since she couldn’t, she’d send me some money to buy some sweets.”

I chuckled. “Look at you, charming money out of your grandmother.”

“I didn’t ask for it. I really didn’t. I even told her it was okay. But now she knows how to use the app to send money, so she sent it. Not my fault, ma.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I teased. “I’ll go visit her in a few days and make her dinner. If you got anything you want me to buy for her, let me know.”

“Cherries. She said she couldn’t find any fresh cherries in her neighborhood market, so she couldn’t make a cherry pie, and she had a taste for it.”

“I’ll take her some cherries.”

“I called Nana also,” India added casually.

Nana?I sat up straighter. Her father’s mom.

“Did you?” I asked, trying my best to keep the strain out of my voice. “What did she talk about?”

“Nothing much. She said she and Aunt Prue wanted to come see me. But they had to get permission from you first since I wasn’t eighteen yet.”

“Did she now?” I asked, knowing a hint of sarcasm slid through.

“Yeah. I told her you didn’t mind them coming to see me. But I told her that I was busy studying for finals and stuff right now. She said she’d come to visit next semester.”

When you’re eighteen.I sighed. It wasn’t that I didn’t want India to see her Nana or the people on her dad’s side of the family. It’s just that they could be problematic. Plus, they blamed me for their son’s death.