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And now, all these years later, she was finding out that hehadbeen alive. He’d been living just two hours away, and no one had told her. She could have had a dad. But she’d been denied her biggest dream, and she had no idea why. Had he not wanted her? Did he have another family? No, the lawyers had told her he’d never remarried or had more kids. But then why hadn’t he come back to the kids he’d already had? Reeva’s lips trembled. She’d thought she’d already been dealt a lifetime’s worth of rejection from her mum and then Rakesh, but now she was being given a whole new dose: a dad who’d rejected her for twenty-nine years.
“What are you thinking?” asked Nick. “It must be a lot to process.”
Reeva swallowed and forced herself to lift her head up and smile. She didn’t want to break down in front of Nick. It was way too soon for that. “Yep. Families.”
“I can’t even imagine. Mine is painfully normal, I’m afraid. But I’m happy to offer up a sympathetic ear.”
“Thanks, Nick. I appreciate it. But don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”
“I don’t doubt it. You’re so strong—it’s one of my favorite things about you. My exes were always emotional wrecks. They couldn’t handle anything. But you’re always so calm when you talk about your life. I feel like you can handle anything.”
Reeva glowed. She felt so lucky to be with Nick—someone who effortlessly complimented her and made her feel special. When she’d broken up with Rakesh and her life had fallen apart, she’d found it impossible to believe she’d ever be happy with a man again. How could she when Rakesh had been so right forher? They’d loved doing all the same things—long heath walks on the weekend, cozy pub dinners, organizing fun trips away with their friends (well, his, but they’d become hers too)—and most importantly, they’d always understood each other. Rakesh had been the one person she’d never had to explain herself to because he just got it. How lonely she could feel sometimes. How the law made so much more sense than her emotions. How her family meant the world to her no matter how they treated her. Until he’d ruined everything.
Nick wasn’t anything like Rakesh—he was much more of an extrovert, and his life was so glamorous that she couldn’t imagine he’d ever be content with the quiet stability she’d had with Rakesh. But he was kind. Interesting. Fun. A lot more fun than Rakesh, actually. And she had a connection with him. After all the bad first dates she’d gone on, she’d given up hope of ever having that again. But now that she’d found it, she was desperate not to lose it—especially not by crying on him about her dad.
She cleared her throat. “Anyway. I probably shouldn’t have too late a night. It looks like I’m going to have to go to Leicester tomorrow.”
“Leicester?”
“Where my dad lived. I have to sort his house out with my sisters. And, you know, grieve him, and figure out the whole family secret. I amnotlooking forward to it.”
“I’m sorry,” said Nick, with an expression that did genuinely look sorry. “Are you going to go for the full thirteen days?”
“I think I’m going to have to. But it’s not great timing. One of my clients is desperately trying to stop his ex from taking their kids abroad. But he’s a struggling artist while she’s insanely rich—which means she’s got all the power, and he could go from seeing his kids weekly to once a year. It makes me so angry tothink she’d ruin her kids’ lives just for her selfish means!” Reeva paused then grinned. “Which is why I hired a private investigator who found out she has a coke habit and turned up to parents’ evening high.”
Nick laughed. “Of course you did. I love how into your job you are. And it sounds like you do it for all the right reasons rather than just the money.”
Reeva blushed. “Oh, that’s just how it works with family law. You can’t help but feel for your clients because you end up knowing every detail of their personal lives. Even the things neither of you want to know.”
“I wish you’d been my divorce lawyer; that would have made the whole process a hell of a lot less painful.” Nick suddenly shook his head. “I’m sorry! I can’t believe I’m bringing up my divorce on a date. Sorry. So you were saying you’re going to be in Leicester for two weeks?”
“Thirteen days. Although”—Reeva’s face brightened—“it started today, so I’ll only be there for twelve days.”
“Maybe... I could come up and visit? Moral support?”
An image of Jaya flirting with Nick while Sita grilled him about his extravagant lifestyle flashed into Reeva’s head. She swallowed an urge to gag. “Uh, no, you don’t have to. I think it’s going to be pretty intense. And, you know, family time.” Then she remembered Lakshmi’s top piece of advice with men: thank them every time they offer to do something for you, even if it’s the total opposite of what you want, otherwise they may never offer again. “But that’s a really lovely thought. Thank you.”
“Sure. Well, you know where I am if you need me. Do you want to head to bed?”
“Yes, please. I need today to end. No offense.”
“None taken.” Nick stood up and reached out a hand. “Coming?”
“You go ahead. I just need to turn FP’s robot on so she can play with it. I’ll come soon.”
“Oh yes, you will. If I have anything to do with it...”
Reeva couldn’t help smiling as Nick leaned in to kiss her again. It was perfect timing. She was done talking about her family—so done—and if there was one thing that was going to take her mind off it all, it was climbing straight into bed with Nick and his very sizable appendage.
CHAPTER 3
Day 2
Reeva pulled upoutside a compact semidetached house in a quiet cul-de-sac. Her father’s home. It looked surprisingly normal. All the houses on the road—and the surrounding maze of Elizabeth Streets, Victoria Roads, and Edward Places that Reeva had gotten lost in—were identical. Light terra-cotta brick, bright white window frames with symmetrical net curtains, and a little green front lawn with a singular apple tree bang in the middle. They all looked like the kind of house a child would draw, complete with a chimney and car in the driveway. Reeva pushed her ’90s tortoiseshell sunglasses high up onto her head so she could better inspect the house. It looked surprisingly cheery considering it belonged to a man living a secret existence from his three daughters. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting; something more Gothic, depressing? But this just looked ordinary. The only noticeable oddity was that her father had lived there alone. Judging by the plastic bicycles and balls in the adjacent gardens, it was very much a family neighborhood. But Hemant Mehta had chosen to live there without his family—withouteven having the courtesy to tell his family, or even let them know he waslivinganywhere.
Reeva forced herself to leave the safety of her car. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this. But here she was, standing outside her father’s home, next to her black Mini Cooper, with two weeks’ worth of clothing in her suitcase. Lakshmi had agreed to move into her flat to take care of FP, Lee had been left with no option but to tell her to take as much time as she needed after Reeva had cc’d HR in an e-mail, and Nick had given her a postcoital kiss goodbye that morning, promising to call as soon as he got to work. Reeva checked her phone in case she’d missed his call. She hadn’t.
With a sigh, Reeva put her phone away and dragged her leather carry-on up the paved stone drive. She could do this. Everything would be fine. She took a deep breath and reached out to press the old-fashioned bell, but before her finger could touch the plastic, the front door swung open to reveal a young woman in thick, black square glasses. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun, and her arms were crossed firmly across her oversized gray jumper. “Took you long enough.”
