Page 22 of Worth Loving
He had no sympathy for anyone. Not his mother, his father, his sister, or any of his kiss ass cousins. No one had their own mind but him and he wasn’t going to be blamed for the tighter reins on their trust funds.
And when he could have used help or support after finding out he was going to be a father, no one even cared.
Why?
Because he wasn’t in a relationship with Corinda. He wasn’t going to marry her or have happily ever after.
Hell, she didn’t even want to be part of their son’s life.
Just another embarrassment to the Easton name.
Fuck them all. He was living his life and living it damn well.
“I want to, but it’s so expensive to live in Manhattan where all my friends are. You know that. You don’t live here anymore.”
“Nope, and I’m never going back there for anything more than a quick visit.”
“Weren’t you scared when you put your money in the stock market? You could have lost it all.”
He would have lost even more if he had followed the path his family had set for him.
“Very few things in life are easy. Lots of things come with hard work and risk. Suck it up, Willow. You can continue to stay under the old man’s thumb, or you can take a stand.”
“Can I come and stay with you?”
Fuck no. “Ah, I’m not sure if that is such a good idea,” he said.
“Why? I can help with Jonah. I haven’t seen him in over a year.”
And that was the reason she wasn’t coming.
“If it was really about Jonah, then you would have visited or called more. You’re only asking because you don’t want to finish school. I’m not going to be your crutch or your excuse.”
“Don’t be that way, Dean,” Willow said, then sniffled. He should be the one crying right now for having to start his day this way.
He blew out a breath.
Sometimes he was just a sucker.
“What is it you want to do if you don’t want to finish school?”
“I want to cook.”
“Like a chef?” he asked. “You think you’re going to come here and work in my kitchen? You won’t last five minutes with Marcus.” There was silence on the other end. “Listen, Willow. Go to the old man, tell him you want to be a world-renowned chef. You want to train in Paris. You want to travel the world learning all the cuisines of the rich and famous. He’ll eat that right up.”
“Yeah, he would. But I don’t want to do those things. I don’t want to travel everywhere. I just want to go somewhere and learn and then come back to my friends and family.”
“Cooking or baking?” he asked. He had to be a glutton to keep this conversation going.
“Baking,” she said. “You know how much I love baking.”
“Do you want to go to France? Pastry school or something?”
“I’d love it.”
He could pay for it for her. He wanted to say that too. He would as a last resort if he knew she really wanted to do that. His sister was just as wishy washy as his parents. They couldn’tdecide on their own and floated with the way the leaves blew in the fall.
That was part of the reason his grandfather controlled so much. His grandfather said it hurt because Dean wasn’t as much like him as his grandfather had hoped for. Sure, he didn’t take shit from anyone. He didn’t take orders. And he lived his own life.
