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"Not yet," he whispers against my mouth. "I want you to take my offer. I want you to understand that I want a new life for you."
I scan his face. I want so much to kiss him and to tell him to stay with me. I want to fall asleep wrapped within the warmth of him. I just stare.
"Call a securities attorney tomorrow. Get him to contact me." He brushes his lips across my forehead before he stands up. "I want this done as soon as possible. I don't want it hanging between us."
I nod my head. He's slipped again. I can see it in his eyes. Tender, loving Jax has become ruthless, obsessed Jax in an instant again. He scoops up his suit jacket and I watch him leave through the corner of my eye.
Chapter 4
"Thank you for coming." I awkwardly reach to hug him across the table. "Did you find the place okay?"
His eyes skirt around the room before he responds, "It's not really my kind of place, princess."
I smile at the familiar endearment. "I know, dad. But the steak here is great and I know how much you love steak."
His face lights up at the suggestion of a slab of beef cooked to perfection. "I don't even need to look at the menu now, do I?"
"I'll order for both of us. The train, it was good?" I feel my resolve loosening a bit. Summoning my father to Manhattan may not have been such a bad idea after all.
"It was great. I read the whole trip." He glances at my left hand as he stills. "Is Mark coming?"
The waiter approaches and I order our dinner before turning back to face my father and the conversation I've been dreading for the past six months. "He's not, dad. It's over."
"I told you so." The hairs on my neck prickle at the declaration.
"I know." I respond calmly. "You were right."
"What happened?"
"He cheated on me." I hate those words. I hate the taste of them in my mouth. I hope this will be the last time I ever have to repeat them.
"Mark?" he snaps back. "Our Mark cheated on you? I don't believe it?" The sarcasm in his voice is obvious.
I run my index finger around the handle of the fork sitting in front of me. "He did with many women."
"What women?" he says it with contempt. I can tell that he's angry. I don't blame him. He warned me. He told me that Mark was no good for me and now I have to concede before I can ask for his help.
"One was Liz," I mumble under my breath hoping he won't remember the name of my best friend.
"You're joking?" The words fly out accompanied by small traces of the bourbon he's drinking. I'm surprised he didn't spit the entire mouthful in my direction.
I breathe a heavy sigh. "I'm serious."
"What kind of people are you associating yourself with, Ivy?" his voice cracks.
"I had no idea, dad. I should have listened to you." I tremble knowing that I was too stubborn back when it mattered. My father was wise, he was strong and he was genuine. If his inner instinct had told him that Mark wasn't good for me that should have raised a red flag in my head. I wish I could undo the past few years. I wish I had taken my father's advice to heart.
He stands and I panic. He's leaving. He's so embarrassed by what I've done with my life that he's going to walk right out of this restaurant, get back on a train headed to Boston and I'll lose him again for the next few years. My eyes well with tears as I bury my head in my hands.
"Princess." His voice is right next to me. "You should have called me. I would have come and given Mark a piece of my mind."
I throw my arms around his neck and pull him to me. The overwhelming scent of his cologne takes me back to when I was a little girl and I would sit on his lap for hours while he read to me each night. This is my home. This is where I belong.
"You would have hit him, daddy." I giggle as I pull back to look at his weathered face.
"I could take him. I'd sucker punch him when he was texting on that fancy phone of his." He winks at me.
I laugh out loud. I feel a sense of calm and contentment. I haven't laughed like this with my father in so long. I finally feel anchored again. "Thank you for coming." I cup his cheek in my hand. "It means everything to me."
