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Sensible? Well, she had been. Until they came along and made her feel otherwise. Then she’d been a little riskier, a little more daring. She’d decided to live her life more fully. So Sabrina, in short, had outgrown sensible and gotten a life.
A life she regretted, to some degree, now that a spotlight had been shown on all of its flaws, but it had been good while it lasted, so even though she hated the outcome, she couldn’t entirely regret the journey.
“It just happened.”
“Well, that’s one way of putting it. I thought only one of those boys had taken advantage of you. Three though?”
“It was my choice,” she explained. And even though she would like to see them all punished for what they’d done, she had to own her part in it too. She’d had her reservations and she’d gone ahead and dove right in anyway. Some of the blame rested on her shoulders, because at the end of the day, the only person who could truly protect her heart was herself. She’d knowingly placed it in harm’s way, as everyone did in the game of love, and she’d gotten burned. Now she had to be an adult about it and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
“You’re being mighty calm about all of this.” Her father sounded suspicious. “Where’s the girl who once cried on my shoulder and begged me to have the other party deported?”
Sabrina remembered that time in question, and she could do nothing but laugh and shake her head. “Daddy, I was eight, and it was because he cheated at dodgeball. Not because he’d broken my heart.” Like the Hargreaves did. The fresh wave of pain caught her off-guard, and Sabrina pressed a hand over the center of her chest in a vain attempt to stymie it.
“Did they?” her father asked quietly.
“What?” She already knew what he was getting it, but it was a temporary and pointless attempt to avoid answering.
“Break your heart.”
She paused for a long moment, allowing the silence to speak for itself.
“Oh, pumpkin, I’m sorry. Really, I am. Had I known, I would have pulled all of my favors and put them on the first plane back to their country.”
“No need,” she grumbled. Because she’d do it herself. Actually, that was just the hurt talking. She wasn’t going to do that. It wasn’t even within her power if she really wanted to. She just wanted them gone from her life. “As long as I don’t have to look at their faces every day, then I’ll be fine.”
“You’re being such an adult about all of this. I’m proud of you, Sabrina.”
“Thanks, Daddy. It’s hard, but I’ll work through it.” She took a moment, and then she said, “You’re being really adult about all of this too.”
“You mean about you getting involved with not one but three men? Brothers at that.”
“Yes, I mean that,” she clarified, though it was unnecessary. “I never expected anything like this to happen. I wasn’t looking for love, and certainly not times three, but, Daddy…it was great. While it lasted. I…I thought we were building toward something.”
He didn’t answer right away. No words of wisdom. It left her wondering what he must think of her, his daughter, shacking up with three men at once. Her father had always been a traditional man. This had to be so far out of his wheelhouse he couldn’t even see straight.
“As your mother is always telling me, it’s not my place to pass judgment. I don’t know what the right thing to say here is, but if I were approaching it as a one-on-one kind of thing, I guess I would say that we live and learn. And, of course, we all make mistakes. You’re no better or worse than anyone else who’s done the same. We all have our own paths to walk, and sometimes, we’re going to veer off in the wrong direction. It’s getting back on it that counts.”
“Well, I’m back on it now, I can assure you.”
“Good. Then I can expect you back at work in the morning and kicking ass and taking names by lunchtime?”
“You got it,” she said with a private smile that felt good to wear. She hadn’t done much of that lately.
“Great. Because I have to admit, trying to fill your shoes in your absence this week reminded me of why I bowed out in the first place. I’m an old man now. I can’t handle the job of ten people as elegantly as you do anymore. It’s definitely a place for the youthful.”
“Was that a compliment?” she teased. After one day of being back under his thumb, she’d felt beaten down. Now, it felt almost too much to hope that he approved of everything she’d been doing all along.
“I didn’t fully appreciate the effort you were putting in before. I was stuck in my own head, in my own ways, and you know, I hate to admit it, but as always, your mother is always right: I’m a bit of a control freak. I stepped on your toes and didn’t even notice because I was too focused on my own agenda. The right thing would have been to bring the information I had to you and let you address it how you saw fit. Instead, I took over. Again, I’m working on it.”
“Thanks, Daddy. And I’m proud of you too. You’ve come a long way.”
And he had. Even if it might not appear that way on the surface. Change was hard, and he was actively trying, which made all the difference.
They exchanged a few more compliments and heartfelt words before finally wishing each other a good night with the promise of talking again soon.
Sabrina was exhausted, physically and emotionally. She should continue cleaning, but in truth, she’d already whipped the apartment into such shape that she wouldn’t need to touch it again for at least a week. The lethargy soaking into her muscles was welcomed too. At least she knew that when her head hit the pillow and she pulled her fresh, clean sheets over her that she’d fall right to sleep instead of her brain running cross country all night.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case.
