Page 197 of Lucky Mother Pucker

I nod, impressed with Zoey’s ability to forgive her dad.

“I’d like to apologize to Leo too, but he’s blocked me from contacting him,” Rocco says.

Pain flickers in his deep brown eyes. The same eyes that Leo has.

“I don’t blame him for doing that,” he says. “I don’t deserve the time of day from my son. I just wish I could apologize to him. I wish I could explain everything to him…tell him why I acted the way I did. That it’s not his fault.” He lets out a shaky breath. “I wish I could tell him that I’ve always been proud of him.”

A faint pulse hits my chest. Just a few minutes ago, I hated this guy. But I don’t anymore.

I don’t like him. There’s still a lot he’s done wrong. There’s still so much he needs to atone for.

But I can tell he’s different. Something about him has changed. He’s sorry. He’s trying. And maybe he deserves a chance to make things right with his son.

I exhale, thinking hard about what I’m about to do. My breath turns into a frosty cloud in the cold air.

“What are you doing in an hour?” I ask Leo’s dad.

“Nothing.”

“You should come with me.”

Chapter 70

Leo

When Lucy walks in the door, I stand up from the couch and wrap my arms around her.

“Hey.” Her soft, sweet voice is like a blanket wrapped around me. Instant comfort.

“How are you doing?” she asks.

“Better now that you’re home.”

She tightens her hold around me, and I nuzzle her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her shampoo.

Wally runs up to us and pushes his face between our legs. Lucy smiles and crouches down to give him a kiss and scratch behind his ears.

When she stands back up, she looks at the front door for a second before turning back to me. “I have to tell you something.”

“What’s up?”

She takes a breath. “Your dad came to see me today at the diner.”

Protective rage spikes up inside. “What did he want? Was he harassing you?”

She touches my arm and shakes her head. “He wanted to apologize for the way he treated me.”

“What?” I’m stunned. That’s so unlike my dad. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him apologize to anyone in my entire life.

“He knows what happened to your sister. He knows that Jeff abused her.”

“He does?”

Lucy nods. “He said that he saw the news about your fight with Jeff. He saw the video. And he talked to Zoey. She told him what happened.” She pauses for a moment. “He seems broken, Leo. When he was talking to me about you, he was on the verge of tears. It seems like learning about your sister’s abusive relationship was a wake-up call for him. He said he apologized to Zoey. And now he wants to apologize to you.”

A weird tension takes hold in my chest. “I don’t understand…”

That doesn’t sound like my dad. Sad. Regretful. On the verge of tears.