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He was right, but I was still on edge. I pouted, huffing, tapping my foot. “I know, I agree with you, it’s just… what if my fathernevergets over this? What if he can’t, what if I lose him and he never speaks to me again? What if he retaliates, and cuts me and our child off? What if our baby ends up not having a grandfather?” The more I catastrophized, the worse the anxiety grew, and the closer I came to crying.
Nathaniel shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “Your dad will never leave your side. I know how devoted he is to his family, and he’s not going to abandon you. David might need some time to accept this new reality, and it’s likely to be extremely difficult for him at first, but if anyone is going to be punished, if anyone is going to damage their relationship with David…” he paused, his voice taking on a gloomy quality. “It will be me. Not you.”
My heart clenched at the thought of Nathaniel losing his close friendship with my father. I was nearly in tears, and we were already pulling into the driveway of my parents’ house.
This is all happening too fast.
Panic and doubt filled my mind. “I don’t want him to punish you, either. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. My father loves us both, but he’s not going to handle this well, I can just feel it, Nathaniel. He won’t accept it.” I used my fingers to stop the tears gathering at the corners of my eyes.
“Hey, hey…” Nathaniel soothed. “Let’s give him an opportunity to surprise us, OK?” He put the car in park, turned off the engine, and took my left hand, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss on my ring finger, and a squeeze. “Maybe your dad will prove us wrong. We have to give him a chance. We both love him; we owe him that.”
I took a deep breath, nodding, drawing strength from Nathaniel’s confidence.
We walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell. The door was covered in a holiday wreath, extra-large and especially fancy, the way my mother liked. I looked over at Nathaniel and gestured with my eyes at the wreath, knowing how much he hated the holidays. He rolled his eyes and smiled, following my cue to lighten the mood.
Both of us knew that any levity would only last for a little while.
It seemed like an hour passed before we heard footsteps from inside. My heart thumped wildly as I could hear my father approaching.
He swung the door open with a grin on his face, then his expression registered Nathaniel’s presence with a look of curiosity.
“Nathaniel! What a nice surprise, come on in!” He backed up and swung an arm out, ushering us inside.
He doesn’t realize we’re here together.
Nathaniel and I shared a brief glance as we walked into the house. We stood in the entryway with my father, in the same place that he had asked Nathaniel to drive me home the night of the client party. No one said anything right away. We had talked and talked about how things would go, but never planned for the possibility that my dad would think this was all just a coincidence.
“What brings you here tonight, Nate?” Dad asked before giving me a sweet smile. He didn’t allow Nathaniel any time to respond before continuing. “Amelia and I were planning a nice dinner together just the two of us, and it’s important that we spend some quality time together. It’s not really the best night for another guest. Can I catch up with you some other time? Give you a call tomorrow morning, meet up at the country club?” He was smiling, trying to be polite to his friend, but adamant that our dinner was private because he thought I was here just to talk to him about the baby.
I had to say something, now. I had to get it over with.
Lifting my chin and summoning all my courage, I took a deep breath. “I invited Nathaniel.”
My father shook his head slightly, his genial smile lingering on his face, silent. When Nathaniel and I didn’t immediately start explaining, my dad’s expression went from confused to inquisitive. His eyes darted between the two of us, doing calculations in his head, and his smile slowly faded as it dawned on him that Nathaniel and I were there together.
As a couple.
The change in my father’s mood seemed to make the room even quieter. The tension was palpable, the air thick with shock and dread.
His eyes went wide, and his brows furrowed, a red flush of anger creeping up his tanned neck. His chest heaved with shallow, staccato breaths as he opened his mouth to react to the realization that his daughter had been in a relationship with his best friend and was now pregnant with his baby.
I had never seen my father like that before.
He was furious.
Chapter 32
Nathaniel
My instinct was to duck right as David lunged for me, but I let him swing and hit me instead.
Amelia shrieked.
He struck my chin first, and I snapped my head to the side reflexively, my hand coming to the source of the pain.
Then I looked David back in the eye again.
“Fucking fight me, you coward!” he screamed.
