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Although there was some truth to his words, he had to know, on some level, everything I’d done had come from a place of hurt. No little girl wants to be estranged from her dad, but sometimes, it’s best.
I stood to be next to Manning. “He wants to be part of this family,” I said. “He’s helped me realize I want that, too. Again. I never stopped wanting it, but I let anger, and then pride, get in the way.”
Silence stretched between us as I waited for my dad to admit he’d done the same. He straightened some papers to the side of his desk, glancing at his computer screen as if he were reading from a script. “What are you going to say to your sister? How do you expect her to take this news?”
“Don’t change the subject,” Manning said. “It was easy for me to come here today, but it wasn’t for Lake. She’s gotten nothing but silence from you in years, yet she came anyway. She deserves your attention.”
I had to stop myself from turning to Manning with an open mouth. I’d never really heard anyone speak to my father that way. In fact, Manning was perhaps the only person I’d ever seen stand up to Dad—though, in the past, it’d usually been in defense of Tiffany, not me.
To my surprise, Dad leaned back in his chair and glided a hand in front of himself. “Then say what you have to say, Lake.”
What did I have to say? I had expected my dad to do most of the talking—or screaming, if I was honest. I was tempted to chug my Pinot, but instead, I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry it’s been so long,” I said, and it was true. To see how my parents’ appearances alone had changed was jarring. They were getting older, and so was I. That wasn’t time I could get back. He didn’t respond, and I wasn’t sure if that made continuing easier or harder. “I thought you knew how I felt about Manning back then,” I said. “I thought you wanted him to marry Tiffany simply because it would hurt me.”
“You thought correctly,” he said with a firm nod. “Not that I wanted to hurt you, of course. But as my daughter, I knew what was best for you, and I knew you better than you thought I did. I saw in your eyes what you were willing to give up for a man much older than you. One who could never, in my eyes, be worthy of you.”
Hearing the truth both saddened and angered me. He’d had no right to decide my future like that. To put Manning in that box, when there was no man worthier, more deserving, of my love. I opened my mouth to tell him so, but Manning took my free hand. He shook his head at me. “Let him speak.”
“I had a feeling,” my dad continued, his eyes conspicuously on our laced fingers, “if Manning left town, you would follow. If Manning waited until you’d turned eighteen, then he would’ve gone to school with you, and your studies would’ve suffered. The only thing that could keep you away from him was your sister.”
Since enough time had passed, I was able to see the logic of an overprotective father. I had no doubt Manning would do anything to keep his future children safe. And, it was true—I’d been a sixteen-year-old girl blinded by my adoration of a man. Even understanding all that, the truth of the matter still hurt. I glanced into my wineglass, shaking my head. “But Manning and I lost years together.”
Dad set his elbows on his desk and opened his hands. “I won’t apologize for my actions. I did what I thought needed to be done, and I would do it again.” Finally, he lifted his eyes to look at Manning. “You may not believe me, Lake, but Manning knows this is true—I only ever wanted the best for you.”
I’d had years to come to terms with those truths. I already knew them. I hadn’t quite made peace with them, but they didn’t shock me. It was a small vindication, having my suspicions confirmed, but not much more. “I believe you,” I said, “but I don’t know how to forgive you for that—or for casting me aside so easily.”
Dad turned his head, looking at his bar cart against one wall, but seemingly lost in a thought. “I understand.”
My heart squeezed in my chest. It wasn’t as if I’d expected him to beg for forgiveness or even apologize for his behavior. A small part of me had, however, hoped he’d want this reconciliation at least a little bit. Without meaning to, I clutched Manning’s hand.
“I’m going to marry her,” Manning said.
That snapped both my and my dad’s attention back to Manning. “Excuse me?” Dad asked.
