Read Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) for Free Online Page B

just gave her, before she shrugged and went about her business. His parents caught the exchange and gave them a questioning look so he shrugged and repeated his sister’s excuse.
    “What? Paige loves me so hard, so she had to squeeze me hard.”
    His mother just shook her head, took a sip of her drink, and returned her attention to her grandson and the interrogation about his future plans. Poor Zane , he thought. Looking back at his sister, who was practically bouncing in her seat, strongly resembling her daughter. Placing a patronizing hand on her shoulder he said, “Are you okay there, Paige? Do you need your medication or something?” he heard his brother-in-law, Brett, almost choke on his water before breaking into a coughing fit, when trying to laugh.
    She looked over at her husband and said, “That’s what you get for laughing at your wife.” Then her glare swung back to Mike, and she added, “Just give me a name so I know you aren’t being a total jackass and lying to me.”
    “Why would I lie to you about something like that?”
    “Because you like to tease me and laugh at me. I think I recall a time when you used to push me down and make me cry, then you would stand over me and point while you laughed at me crying.”
    Mike heard Brett choke on his water again before defending himself, “I never did anything like that!”
    “Sure you did! Don’t you remember? You wanted to play with my Barbie, but I told you no, that only girls and sissy boys did that. But you insisted and I continued to tell you no. So you just decided you wanted it so bad that you had to take it from me and push me down so I couldn’t take it back from you.”
    Thankfully, Brett had given up on drinking his water because now he broke out in a hysterics at his wife’s antics. Mike just shook his head at her and waited for her to continue, ‘ because he knew she would. And she did. “Remember, we were playing chess, on the frozen lake, and then you took off your energy mask … oh wait, there’s a chance this might have been a dream.”
    Then both of them laughed out loud because she was obviously quoting a line from Friends and they loved that show. It was their thing. Around them, the other family members ignored them, used to the show they were putting on. The evening continued and things wrapped up. They said their goodbyes, and when he walked them to the car his sister said, “Are you even going to tell me her name? She is real, right? Are you going to see her right now?”
    “You know, you sure seem to resemble your daughter a lot tonight.” He hugged her, then kissed her on the cheek. When he pulled back he told her, “Her name is Allie. Yes, she is real, and yes, I am going to go see her right now.” His sister’s smile was electric. He loved that she could smile that big over something that really had nothing to do with her.
    “Please call me tomorrow. I want to chat without prying ears of both the five year old version and the sixty-something version,” she pleaded with him.
    “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he offered, and with that, he made his way toward his truck.
    Mike had already said goodnight to Zane, who, of course, had plans with some of his friends. It was graduation night, so Mike made sure to give him the same instructions he always did, telling him, “Have a good time, but make sure you’re smart about it. You need a ride, you call me any time of night, and I come, no questions asked.” He was proud of his son, and he made sure to tell him that in both words and action. Trust was important, and he felt that the two of them had a great relationship. There was no doubt in his mind that if his son found himself in a situation that had potential for disaster, he would call him. This trust allowed him to sleep at night. Now heading to Gillian and Jake’s place, he felt himself getting excited about seeing Allie. A mixture of anxiety and anticipation fluttered around his gut.
    A LLIE struggled with the