Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series)

feet tall. “I left school.”
    “Obviously, you can return in the morning.”
    I shake my head. “I can’t go back. I quit.”
    “What do you mean you quit?” he bellows causing my mom to jump, the ice rattling around in her glass.
    “I thought it would be different and it’s not and I’ve been talking to Grandma Betty—”
    “YOU WHAT? Do you think I’ve raised you to be a Westbury so you can associate with trash like that?”
    “Trash? She’s your wife’s mother,” I point to mom who has no expression on her face. “My god, what is your problem? She’s family. I know what you did. What you both did. Mom, you gave up your dreams to marry him.” I point at my dad. “And you made her. Why? Why weren’t her dreams as important as yours? Look at her! She’s a damn robot.”
    “Betty is clearly poison if that is what she told you. So tell me smart ass, what are your plans?”
    “I’m going to go to Los Angeles for a bit to try my hand at music.”
    Sterling starts laughing. A maniacal laugh. Bianca walks into the room and fills her tumbler. She must coat her liver with medicine in order to function. Typical.
    “If you do not return to school immediately, don’t come back here.”
    “You’re kicking me out for following a dream?”
    Sterling picks up his paper and pops it open, crossing his leg. “No, Liam, I am simply instructing you of your options. You have two: you can go back to school, speak with your coach and secure your spot on the team, or you can walk out that door, lose your trust fund and forget that you’re a Westbury.”
    “I don’t know, buddy. Let’s talk about it when I come back okay. My parents… they're difficult sometimes and we don’t always get along.”
    “Okay. What are we doing to do when you get here?”
    “Well, I thought we could look for a house. I don’t want to stay in a hotel when I’m there and I was thinking that maybe your mom will let you stay with me for the time I’m there, but I’ll have to talk to her about it, okay? You don’t need to bring it up. I’ll take care of everything. I gotta go though so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Night, I love you dad.”
    “I love you too.”
    I slide down the wall after Noah hangs up. I knew my parents were going to come up sooner or later, I was just hoping for much, much later.
    My hand runs through my hair. I think I’ll grow it out to the way Josie liked it, maybe then she’ll look at me with different eyes. I’m not going to lie, I want my girl back.
    “Did you knock someone up?”
    I turn to see Sam standing in the hall, hands on her hips. She’s pissed.
     

CHAPTER 22
    JOSIE
     
    With Halloween out of the way and the countdown to Liam’s return looming, Nick is on edge. He hasn't changed much since Liam left last time and it’s not like I haven’t tried. He’s uptight and stressed. He says its work, but I know it’s me. It’s my actions and disrespect for his feelings. I’ve put unnecessary strain on our relationship and haven’t been fair to him.
    I’ve thrown myself into work, as much as I can anyway. I’ve decided to expand and have rented out the adjacent building for more window frontage. I plan to add a coffee shop and bring in live music. When I showed Nick my business plan, I thought he’d be happy. I was wrong. He accused me of providing Liam a place to play whenever he wanted. When I kindly reminded him that Liam Page does not need me for anything, he scoffed and left the table.
    We were partners until I screwed it all up. Now I need to fix it and don’t know how. Everyone says you hit a rough patch in life, but this is more like road rash that won’t go away and I need it to because I miss Nick and I hate that he’s hurting because of me.
    When Jenna arrives, the contractor is following behind her, staring at her ass. Some men are so crass. She comes behind the counter and drops her purse in the cabinet before turning her attention on him. She thinks he’s a customer and he just might be after today. Maybe I can bribe her into dating him while construction is going on so I can get a good deal.
    I’ve just turned into not only a shitty fiancée but an equally bad friend. I need help.
    “Hi, Harry,” I say over Jenna.
    “Hey, Josie,” he replies while looking at Jenna. I snap my fingers to get his attention. It takes forever for his eyes to finally meet mine. Great, now he’ll be distracted by Jenna the whole time he’s here.
    “Let’s discuss my