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I went to step out. To run away from him. From the monster I created.
But then I stopped.
Because there, standing in the doorway, with a defiant look on his face, was my dad.
“Where do you think you’re going with my daughter, Eric?” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eric
OnlythendidIrealize what a fool I’ve been.
“Tom?” I asked.
“I asked you a question,” said Tom. Even if he had a few years on me, Jamie’s dad was built tall and strong. Someone had recently trimmed his steel gray hair close to his temples. And his cold, dark eyes looked at me as though I were his enemy.
I turned to face my old friend.
“Tom,” I said slowly, my eyes darting to Jamie to judge her reaction. “This is … I can explain.”
“I’ll bet,” said Tom. “But I’d like to hear it from Jamie first.”
“Dad,” said Jamie. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you,” he said. “I came to ask why the hell all of New England seems to think you two are engaged.”
Jamie’s eyes opened wide, and quickly she said, “We aren’t.”
“What about this photo?” said Tom, and he looked at me. “Speak up, son,” he added, his voice dark. “What the hell’s going on?”
I couldn’t speak. Suddenly I realized how wrong it was to expect that Jamie would just go along with this. But I was seduced by our passion, by the promise of happiness that spending time with her brought me. And I realized this was a chance to have the woman I wanted.
I knew I ought to be honest.
“We were going to deny it outright,” I said. “It was a misunderstanding. Jamie posted a picture on the wrong account, and—”
“So, what are you doing here with him?” said Tom, turning to Jamie.
I turned to look at her and glared into Jamie’s green eyes. She was looking at me as though I was a completely different person.
“And why are they getting ready to throw a party on the top floor?” said Tom. “You two thought you could just … pretend … you were married?”
“Dad,” said Jamie.
“That’s enough,” replied Tom. He reached out his hand toward Jamie. “Come on, Jamie. We’re leaving.”
“Tom,” I said frantically. “Wait. Please. Hear me out.”
Tom looked at me. But rather than the trust and sincerity I’ve come to expect from his gaze, he looked cold and indifferent.
“If you were any other man,” he said, “I’d tell you to get lost right now. But maybe you can explain it to me, Eric. Why have you done this? And why the party?”
I racked my brain to explain. But I knew right from the start there was nothing I could say to make up for what I did. And no amount of business strategy or cold-hearted calculation could make Tom see that this was right.
Because it wasn’t. It was a sick and twisted idea, to begin with.
“Tom,” I said. “Believe me. I never meant for it to be like this. But the truth is more complicated than you think—”
