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Fuck, I should’ve known better than to ask. I swallowed hard at the confirmation of what I already knew. “You’ll make a terrific mother.”
“Thanks.” She went on to describe the house Tim had bought and how she’d decorate it. I smiled and nodded in all the right places, but the reality was we lived in two different worlds. And so did Oakley and I.
After the dance, I should’ve gone up to my room. It was a win for the night to have seen my little sister married, shared a dance, and not fought with my family. But knowing Oakley was here until the end meant I didn’t want to leave her. Not with Shawn getting drunker by the minute.
As things wound down, and people started to leave, I found her taking out gifts from the rear of the ballroom.
“Here, I’ll help,” I offered, assisting her in filling up a rolling cart. We pulled it out the back door where Tim’s SUV was parked.
It was frigid outside, which had her shivering in her dress.
“Here, take this.” I took off my suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing them to get her warm. And because we were alone, I dipped my head to her ear. “I can’t wait to get you upstairs and properly warmed up.” I had plans to explore what we’d started last night. Plans to discover what other things turned Oakley on. If we only had one night remaining, I intended to make the most of it.
“Well, well, isn’t this cute? Guess one man’s trash really can become another man’s trash,” came the slurred words.
I looked over to see Shawn carrying a few things out along with another groomsman.
“More like treasure, but you’re both drunk and stupid, so I understand how you got it mixed up.”
The other groomsman chuckled along with Oakley, which in turn irritated Shawn. Good. The asshole should be taken down a notch.
Oakley scooted by him to grab the centerpiece from the other groomsman. “Thanks, Andy, I’ll put this in the backseat so it doesn’t get crushed.”
But as she moved to take it, Shawn grabbed her arm, “I’ll put it in the seat, you stupid—”
He didn’t have a chance to finish before I had him up against the brick wall, my hand around his throat. I wasn’t a violent man, but watching him think he could put his hands on her and speak to her that way was my final straw.
“You don’t touch her. You don’t look at her. And you never speak to her again, do you understand?” Forget threatening to call his boss—I wanted to end him.
His reddened face let me know there was enough pressure he couldn’t get in a full breath.
“Nod if you understand, asshole.”
He nodded, and after one last press, just a reminder he was at my mercy, I let him go.
He crumpled to the ground, coughing and wheezing to get air.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Turning, I saw my father standing there beside my mother who had a centerpiece in her arms.
I swallowed hard, trying to calm down. “Shawn here needed a lesson on how to treat women.”
My dad barked out a bitter laugh. “That’s rich coming from you, don’t you think?”
“Meaning what, exactly?” My fist clenched. The man hadn’t spared any words for me in a decade, and this was where he wanted to make his stand? Fine. I was more than ready for a fight.
“Meaning the way you treat women is reprehensible.”
I nearly balked at his raw contempt. How had this been the man who’d coached me in Little League and taught me how to change a tire? How could he hate me the way he did?
“Phil, please,” came my mother’s shaky voice.
Shit. Seeing tears gathering in her eyes deflated me. All my fight was replaced with resignation. Why bother? I didn’t want my dad’s approval, and it was clear I no longer had my mother’s love. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m leaving.” I turned toward Oakley. “Ready?”
My father stepped to block our path. “I won’t let you corrupt this young lady the way you have the others at your deviant club. She can stay here with us.”
Oakley’s eyes went big at his words.
