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“I do.” He leans forward and folds his hands against the polished surface. “And we’re not here to discuss my relationship with Pamela. We’re here to talk about your lapse in judgment regarding her daughter.” There’s a pause and his voice dips. “My stepdaughter.”
“Carina isn’t your stepdaughter. Not at the moment.”
“Ever since that girl came into this family, she’s been like a daughter to me. It doesn’t matter if we’re related by blood or not.” He stabs a finger in my direction. “And you know that.”
“You’re right,” I concede. “I do.” My father is a good man. He’s treated Carina in the same manner that he’s always treated me. There was never any you’re just a stepchild with him.
“Then what the hell are you doing?”
My shoulders collapse under the heaviness of the question and the confusion that mars his expression.
“I care about her,” I blurt. “I’ve always cared. I want to be with her.”
He pushes away from the desk and sits back against the leather chair as he silently studies me like I’m a bug smeared across his windshield.
Just as I begin to squirm beneath the relentless stare, he says, “You know what I think?” He doesn’t give me a chance to respond. “That you want Carina simply because she’s off-limits. If I were to give you my blessing, you’d lose interest in the blink of an eye, and it would be over with. And you’d fuck up this family as a result.”
His accusation catches me off guard.
Is that seriously what my father thinks?
Of me?
That I’m an immature asshole who only wants what I can’t have?
“That’s not true,” I growl.
“How do you know? When have you ever been involved in a relationship that lasted more than a few nights spent between the sheets?”
Heat slams into my face. “Did you ever think that I haven’t bothered getting involved with another girl because I couldn’t have the one I actually wanted? The one I’ve always had feelings for.”
His expression remains inscrutable. If I thought baring a little bit of my soul would soften his stance, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“End it now, Ford. Before it destroys this family.”
Is he fucking nuts?
“I did that before, and it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I won’t do it again.”
He slams his fist on the desk as his voice escalates, echoing off the walls. “Stop being so damn selfish. Think about someone other than yourself for a change.”
I rise to my feet. “This conversation is over.”
As I glare, I realize that my hands are shaking.
Have I ever been this angry?
With my father?
No.
On both accounts.
As I stalk toward the office door, he says, “You realize my political opponents will have a field day with this, right? My son dating his stepsister?”
My feet ground to a halt as I grapple with a response. But there’s nothing.
Nothing I can say.
