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“What?” I look up at him, wiping the tears from my face. “I don’t understand…”
“You think that I would believe the right choice was me?” He frowns at me. “You think I would sacrifice your happiness for my own?”
I look into his dark brown eyes and remember that while he is all of those things I just thought of, he is also the greatest father anyone could ever ask for. To the few people who are blessed with his love, he is the kindest and most loyal man there is.
“He chose me?” I whisper.
“Of course he did.”
“But what about you and him?” I stammer. “You need him, Papi. He needs you, too.”
He sits on the desk and sighs, running a hand through over the stubble on his jaw. “Your mama tells me you are a grown woman and I need to find a way to get past this. You know I hate to admit it, but she’s right.”
“She always is,” I remind him.
He laughs softly. “Yes. But it will take me time, mija. I will try, for you. If he is the one for you, then I guess I’m going to have to get used to this, right?”
“He is the one, Papi,” I say as I look up at him.
He nods his understanding, but then he narrows his eyes at me. “But me and him—we can never be what we were before, Lucia,” he says with a sigh.
“No.” I shake my head. “You can’t say that. You and he are still the same people you were.”
“No we are not. He has betrayed my trust. No matter what the reason.”
“But, Papi.”
“Besides, how can I ask him to do things I do, to put his life in danger when I know that you would be waiting for him to come home to you?”
“You can’t live life like that. You of all people know that.”
He stares at me and I see the anguish written all over his face. I hate that I have put him in this position. “Come here,” he holds out his arms and I stand and allow him to pull me into a hug. “I want you to be happy more than anything in this world. If you are happy with Jax, then I will accept this, but do not ask me to change who I am.”
“I would never,” I whisper.
“If he ever hurts you though…” he warns and he doesn’t need to finish the sentence.
“I know, Papi.”
I’m walking through the lobby of my father’s hotel fifteen minutes later when I see Jax running toward me. “Lucia.” He pulls me into a hug as I reach him.
“Jax, where the hell have you been? Why aren’t you answering your damn cell?”
“It fell out of my pocket when I was with your father and he stood on it. It’s broken,” he shakes his head. “I went to your place but you weren’t there. Then I went to your mom’s work to see if you were there. She tried calling your cell but it went to voicemail.”
“Oh damn! My battery got flat. Sorry.”
“You and that damn battery, Luce.”
“It was only flat because I called you like a trillion times.”
“Fuck.” he mumbles, pulling me closer to him and burying his head in my hair. “Your mom and I thought you’d be here. Have you spoken to him? Are you okay?”
“Yes, and yes. Everything’s going to be fine.” I untangle myself from his arms and slide my hand around his waist. “Can we go home? We have three hours before we need to pick Matthias up.” I look up and smile at him. “Then we can tell him as soon as he gets home.”
“What the hell happened up there?” He flashes his eyebrows at me.
“My father and I have come to an understanding,” I reply with a shrug. “But I’m sure you already suspected that we would.”
