I straightened my tie, glancing back toward the house where guests were starting to arrive. “Everything’s great. Shouldn’t we get inside to your adoring fans?”
He chuckled. “Your mother can handle them. At least for a few more minutes.”
“Is that why you married her?”
He shook his head, a dreamy look in his eyes. “I married her because she was the most interesting woman I’d ever met.”
“I always thought it was because she was the wealthiest.”
He sucked air through his teeth as if my comment stung. “Her wealth didn’t hurt. But I didn’t know she was an heiress when I first met her. All I knew was that she had the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. She was laughing with her friends, sitting on the blanket in front of a beach bonfire.”
I’d never heard my parents talk about that time—when they met and fell in love. I wasn’t sure they’d ever been in love. But now, I thought maybe I’d been wrong.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Life. Politics. Children.” He flashed me a wry grin. “We’ve built an empire together, and we’re going to take on the White House.”
We both fell silent, the sounds of the party trickling in behind us. “You’ve grown up, and I’m proud of you. Whatever is responsible for this change, I’m glad.”
I stared at him, speechless. I didn’t know what to say or how to respond. I wasn’t sure my dad had ever told me he was proud of me. I couldn’t remember a time I’d felt like he was. All my life, it was as if nothing I did was enough.
“Are you sick?” I asked, suddenly panicked. Why else would he be making these declarations unless he were dying?
His head dropped to his chest as he shook it back and forth. “No, son. It’s been brought to my attention that perhaps I’ve been a bit cold as a father, a bit distant.”
“A bit critical?” I asked, unable to resist.
“I’m trying.”
Why?I wondered. What had prompted this wake-up call? Was he as genuine as he seemed, or was it all part of the act? I hated that I had to question his sincerity, but years of criticism and digs had conditioned me to be jaded.
“Well, um, thanks.”
I glanced inside, where I saw Lauren mingling with some of the guests. She looked beautiful in her navy dress, all elegance and grace. Her hair was twisted up, her lips a gorgeous, glossy pink.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Dad said.
“That’s funny.” I grinned, bolstered by his earlier words. “There’s actually someone I want you to meet too.”
“A potential donor?”
I shook my head, debating how to label my relationship with Lauren. The term girlfriend seemed so juvenile, so simple for what we were. But I couldn’t come up with a better word to describe her.
“My partner,” I settled on, realizing how fitting it was.
Lauren was my partner in every sense of the word. She was there for me, supporting and encouraging me. She understood me. She saw me.
My dad’s eyebrows rose a hair, just enough for me to notice. “Partner? You mean your business partner, Toby? I’ve met him before.”
“No.” I laughed, feeling a bit lighter already. “Her name is Lauren. She’s actually responsible for my home and the change you see in me.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, ushering me inside. “Then I’d love to meet her.”
We passed through the crowd, our progress hampered by the fact that Dad had to talk to everyone, shake their hands, smile for pictures. He seemed genuinely happy, his charisma radiating through the room. Everyone wanted to talk to him, to be in the presence of his greatness. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t angry or bitter. I was proud. I only hoped that if Mia’s baby was mine, he’d still be proud of me.
“Hey,” Lauren said, sidling up next to me. “How are you holding up?”
“Pretty good,” I said.
