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My face was against his chest, and the guilt pounded over me in waves. The conversations I’d had with my father passed across my mind, intensifying the guilt.
“We’re a family,” he said as he held me. “You’re my family.”
The asphalt was wet because it had rained the night before.
When I stepped out of the car, I felt the tip of my heel slip slightly because of the slickness. The cold air hit me instantly, and I felt it shrink my lungs when I took a breath. I walked to the double doors and let myself inside, the warmth hugging me and making me forget the winter misery.
I checked in with my father’s butler and let him know I’d arrived before I took a seat in the parlor, looking outside at the darkness. It wasn’t even seven o’clock in the evening, but it looked like midnight. I stared until my father joined me, wearing dark jeans and a brown jacket.
“Hello, sweetheart.” He leaned down to give me a hug and kissed me on the temple. “It’s been a long winter, hasn’t it?” He moved to the chair across from me, and his butler immediately brought our refreshments and appetizers.
“The longest of my life.” It was always raining. It was always overcast. It was always cold. But it was definitely better than other years, because I had a sexy man in my bed to keep me warm.
My father took a drink of his wine. “I’m always happy to see you, but what brings you by?”
I hadn’t told him I was coming. My thoughts had become too heavy for me to carry any longer. I’d lied to Axel and told him I’d already made dinner plans with my father, and he didn’t question it. “I just haven’t seen you in a while.”
He gave a slight nod, but his intelligent eyes showed he didn’t believe me. “Nothing too interesting has happened in my life since we last spoke. I went to the opera the other night, and then I tried that new restaurant they finally opened.”
“Who did you go to the opera with?”
“A friend,” he said quickly and didn’t elaborate. “How are you?”
“I met Axel’s parents the other night. They’re assholes. Well, his father is. His mother didn’t say a word.”
My father drank his wine.
“I just don’t understand how a father can turn his back on his own son.”
He remained quiet, bringing his hands together between his knees. “Families can be complicated.”
“But they shouldn’t be complicated.” Axel never described the depth of his pain, but I could see it written clearly across his face, could see it in the way his eyes fell. “It makes me appreciate what we have, because I never have to worry where we stand.”
He lifted his eyes to look at me, warmth in his gaze. “There’s nothing you could do to make me love you less.”
“I know.” And that meant the world to me. I had a place to go, a place where I belonged—always. “So I know you’ll understand what I’m about to tell you.” The guilt was too much for me to bear. My shoulders sagged under the weight. My heart was about to burst from the pressure. “I know our plan is to cut Axel out and reclaim the business, but I don’t think I can do that.”
His warmth slowly hardened into icicles. His eyes flicked back and forth between mine, his mind searching for a contradiction in my words.
“I can’t betray him.”
He remained motionless, his breathing slow, his eyes becoming callous once he accepted what I said. “Don’t let him manipulate you, sweetheart.”
“He’s not manipulating me?—”
“He’s not stupid. Wooing you is his way of preventing a retaliation.”
“There would be no need for a retaliation if you hadn’t screwed him over.”
He was silent, but he drew in a deep and heavy breath.
“Look…” I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to disappoint him. “He’s a good man?—”
“He cheated on you, Scarlett,” he snapped. “You’re very quick to forget.”
“I don’t want to live in the past anymore. That moment is not a reflection of our current relationship. He’s offered to split his share with me. We’ve gotten what we wanted. We have the business.”
“It’s not our business if we have to share it.”
“Even if we got it back, we would lose all those partnerships and would be back to what we were making before?—”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“And even if we succeed, Axel and Theo will just retaliate. It’ll never end?—”
“If Axel really cares for you, he won’t do a damn thing.”
“I just mean…” I steadied my voice because when I yelled, he yelled. “It’s going to go back and forth…indefinitely. Let’s appreciate what we have and move on.”
My father abruptly rose from the chair and started to pace, arms crossed over his chest. He walked to the window and looked outside, looked through the streaming raindrops to the dark terrace outside.
