Bianca's Joy: Rose Island Book 3 by Kristin Noel Fischer

Author:Kristin Noel Fischer [Fischer, Kristin Noel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780999785683
Publisher: KNF Books
Published: 2018-09-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Daniel

After Bianca left, Daniel thought about what she’d said regarding Enzo. Maybe enough time had passed that his brother would be open to talking.

He really wanted to tell Enzo about the other thing. The thing he couldn’t bring himself to tell Joy. The thing he mostly ignored until it gnawed at his stomach like secrets did.

Wandering into the living room, he found his daughter sitting on the couch, reading one of her favorite books, The Magnolia Story. He’d bought the book for her last summer when they’d visited Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco.

“Look,” Daniel began, taking the seat opposite her, “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Is it about Bianca?”

“Bianca?”

Joy put down the book and shifted on the couch. “Yeah. What’s going on with you guys?”

“Oh, well, I like her.”

“You like her?” Joy sounded skeptical.

He nodded. “Yeah. I like her. I like her a lot. Is that okay?”

“Oh, Dad.” She pushed out a long, disapproving breath.

“What?”

“It’s just . . . Bianca is a good friend of mine.”

“I know.”

“Well, have you thought about what’s going to happen when you break up?”

“When we break up?”

Nodding, she stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

“Wow. Just go ahead and hammer that nail into the coffin containing my relationship, why don’t you.”

“Your relationship?”

“What’s wrong with the word relationship?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you say that word before.”

“Relationship? I say that word all the time.”

Her brow lifted. “Okay. What about your relationship with Uncle Enzo?”

His body stiffened. “What about it?”

“When are you going to fix things with him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I know it’s been bothering you. You haven’t been the same since Christmas, and you didn’t even tell Bianca about him.”

He nodded, conceding the point. Of course, he was upset about Enzo, but he really wanted to talk to Joy about the secret. Tell her, a voice inside him whispered. Just get it over with and tell her.

“Look, Joy. We need to talk about something else.”

“Okay, but if it’s about Bianca, then I already know.”

“What do you already know?”

“I know you’ve liked her for a long time, and I know you’ve been afraid to ask her out because of me. I appreciate that, but it’s okay now. Just please don’t hurt her.”

“I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Good.”

“I’m serious,” he said.

“I know.”

He hesitated, feeling the need to reassure Joy that everything was going to be fine with Bianca. “Just so you know, Bianca and I are going to take things slow.”

She laughed. “Slow? I saw you making out with her on the pergola swing.”

Despite not wanting to be the kind of guy who blushed, heat burned Daniel’s face. “Well, that’s as far as it’s going to go. I’m not going to sleep with her until—”

“Dad!” Joy’s eyes widened. Sex wasn’t something they discussed. Joy, thankfully, had Daniel’s sister for topics like that.

Still, in a culture of easy hookups and disposable one-night stands, he wanted his daughter to know God had a better plan. At the same time, violating that plan had given him Joy, so he didn’t want her to think he regretted her existence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.