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Dead silence greeted her.
“You did, didn’t you.” She didn’t ask it as a question. There was no need. His answer was in his non-answer.
“Willow, you were nineteen years old with stars in your eyes. The very last thing I wanted was you getting involved with some egotistical football player who would cheat on you and make you miserable. Take you away from the only home you ever knew, force you to travel around and watch all of those crazed groupies try to jump him. I knew you would hate it.” He let out a harsh breath. “I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? You didn’t even talk to me about it. Just went behind my back and told him to stay away from me,” she accused.
“You didn’t tell me about your little relationship with Nick either, you know. One of my clients saw you out with him and said some Hawks football player was slobbering all over my young daughter.” His voice actually shook, he sounded so upset. “I was livid. You snuck around with him all summer and never told me. Not once. Out with some stupid, womanizing football player who would’ve broken your heart in two if given the chance. I had to do something,” he said, his voice rising.
Closing her eyes, she fell back onto the bed. She so didn’t want to be having this confrontation. It all happened years ago and though she still wished he’d talked to her first, she knew she should be thanking her father for at least trying to protect her. She and Nick probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway. Something would’ve happened and their relationship would’ve blown up into a complete mess.
But what if…it had worked out? They could be married with babies by now.
Why did the idea of having Nick’s babies make her heart flutter? This was ridiculous.
“I know you were trying to protect me,” she said softly. “And I know I was young. The way you went about it was wrong, though, Dad. You used intimidation tactics and lawyer-speak and got him so flustered, he bailed on me. The things he said when he broke it off…I thought I would die, he was so mean.” He’d acted like he didn’t care. She’d been so confused.
“I never told him to be mean, Willow. I asked that he end it with you and quick. That’s all,” her dad said. “And how did you find out about this now?”
“He’s resented what you did to him for years.” She paused, thinking of all the time that passed, the opportunities lost. It was almost too painful to linger over so she pushed it aside. It was easier that way. “I’ve been seeing him again, Daddy. He told me what happened.”
“He told you? Why are you seeing him again?”
She couldn’t confess the truth, how it all went down. No way, no how. Her dad would hit the roof if he knew Nick blackmailed her into dating him so she could get the building for her business. Talk about unethical. Her father the attorney would have a coronary. “I like him, Dad. I think I might even be…in love with him.” Great. So her dad was the first person she told that she might be in love with Nick. So not the way she wanted to do this.
No answer from her father either, which made her uneasy. Fidgety. Her leg wouldn’t stop moving, her knee bouncing up and down—a nervous habit she’d had when she was a kid.
Looked like she still had it.
“He admitted to me everything that happened between you. He was just trying to be honest with me. He didn’t want any secrets between us and I…I still got mad at him.” A tear streaked down her cheek and she swiped at it angrily. Since when did she cry over a man? It hadn’t happened since…the last time she was with Nick. Great. “I couldn’t stand the idea of the two of you conspiring behind my back and deciding what was best for me. I was a grown woman and you handled my life like I was still a little kid.”
“You were all of nineteen, Willow, and hardly out of high school. He was two years older, charming, and good looking. I couldn’t stand the thought of my only child being at the mercy of a man who would eventually leave her. So I made it happen earlier rather than later.”
“Great, so you think you did me a favor,” she said.
“I did! You should be thanking me. I saved you from months, if
not years of constant heartache.”
Since when had her life turned into such a soap opera? Nothing but drama and secrets and lies. Blackmail and hot sex. Tender moments and sex in public and sweet, drugging kisses from a man she was desperately, madly in love with.
And she let him walk away. Walk out of her life because she was angry and had her pride.
Stupid, useless pride.
“Believe what you need to believe,” Willow murmured. “It’s probably easier to think that way.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” he started to ask but she hung up on him, tired of arguing.
Tired of talking about it.
…
“We’re losing.”
Nick took a swig of water, glaring at Jared. “No shit, Sherlock.”
Jared glanced around the locker room, taking in all the sad and defeated faces, no doubt. They were losing by a large margin—two touchdowns and a field goal—and it was killing every single one of them. Especially since it was against a team they’d already beat once earlier in the season. Demolished them, more like.
