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My dad smiled when he heard me say that. “Well, thanks.”
I stared him down, hoping he would recognize me, that he would recognize his own blood, but he didn’t. “No problem, Dad.”
He was just about to turn to the cab when he jerked back toward me. Now he stared at me with a mixture of both fear and terror, like the past he’d been evading all his life had finally caught up with him. His breaths deepened and shortened, and his eyes flicked back and forth as he looked at my features.
My mother was frozen too.
My dad finally spoke. “Ryan…?”
“Yes.”
Still in disbelief, he just stared, at a loss for words. “I…I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say—”
“I’ve watched you my entire adult life. Watched you interact with your kids. Watched my birthday come and go without any acknowledgment. Watched the life I could have had from across the street.”
“We tried to find you—”
“No, you didn’t. And that’s okay. I don’t want to be somewhere I’m unwanted.”
My mother grabbed his arm to steady him.
“I’m not going to watch you anymore. I’m not sad about the life I lost. I’m married now. I have a son. I have my own family. I just wanted you to know that I’m here, that what you did was unspeakable, and you’re the ones who missed out on a relationship with me. As a father myself, I don’t know how you could possibly justify what you did. But none of that matters anymore.”
He was still speechless, somber from my cold words. “I-I want you to know how sorry I am. How sorry we both are.”
I gave a slight nod. “Yeah…I’m sorry too.”
The second I walked in the door, I heard his footsteps.
“Dad!” He rounded the corner and came down the hall to the entryway. He ran as fast as he could on his little legs and dove right into my shins.
I smiled and lifted him into my arms. “Did you take care of your mother while I was gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course you did.” I kissed the side of his head as I walked into the kitchen.
Laura was finished dinner, her stomach slightly distended with our second baby. “Hey, babe.” She came to me and kissed me. “How was Paris?”
I brought her close and kissed her on the forehead. “It was fine.”
“That’s it?” she asked with a laugh. “Just fine?”
“I saw Benton. He’s doing well.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“And I took care of business. That’s about it.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re home.” She kissed me again and got back to work in the kitchen.
“Yeah…me too.”
Penelope Sky has a brand-new fantasy romance series under her pen name Penelope Barsetti scheduled to release in the fall, but you can get it MONTHS before everyone else. AND you can get all three books in one sitting instead of waiting months between releases.
Yep, you read that right.
There’ll be more than just the ebooks, but autographed paperbacks and limited edition hardcopies, along with a podcast interview with Penelope Sky, a virtual book signing, and more!
