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I recognize that face, though.
It’s not the same as mine, but it’s close enough. It’s older than the face I used to look at pictures of, but it belongs to the same man.
But no.
No fucking way.
No goddamn fucking way is this real.
“Well,” he goes on, sounding displeased, “I was told that you come by for visits in the mornings, not evenings. Didn’t anticipate this happening.” He sucks on his teeth and puts his hands in the pockets of his expensive-looking slacks. “Suppose it was foolish of me to think I wouldn’t run into you a single time over the course of this week.”
Oh my God, what?What?
Am I…am I hearing this right?
Even after all this time, he still hasn’t wanted to see me? Even though I’ve gotten along perfectly without him and I don’t require his help or his money or his attention, he’s taken care to stay away from me for—God, for the entireweekhe’s here? Does he have no regrets? Has he really not wanted to reach out to me even once? I’m not sure I’d like to spend time with him, but don’t I deserve the option?
As thing after thing piles up on me, I look at the woman he’s with. She’s utterly unfamiliar to me. I never saw any pictures of my mom, though, so what if this is her? Am I looking at both—?
“Oh, this isn’t your mother,” my lookalike says perceptively, dryly.
I jerk my eyes back to him.
Despite how he’s scanning over me with blatant boredom, he muses, “I guess this is as good a time as any to get our inevitable talk out of the way.” His dark eyes turn to the woman. “You can stay here with the other ladies. Landon and I will go get a coffee and come back within the hour.” She nods dutifully, so he looks at me again and says, “Let’s go.”
Except he doesn’t actuallysayit. Heordersit.
I feel, very suddenly, like I might explode.
I have to get out of here. Now. Andnotwith him. This is my chance to get to know him and I’m abruptly very sure Idon’twant it.
And yet I still can’t say anything. Can’t seem to move.
“Let’s go, Landon,” he orders once more.
No. I won’t. No.
The words must be on my face, because his eyebrows lift. “I know I had poor manners when you were born, but you’ve got a good ten years on seventeen, don’t you? How is it you haven’t learned to respond properly to your elders?” He rolls his eyes, crosses his arms over his button-up and tie. “My too-soft mother, that’s how. I’ll bet you’re no more a man than teenage me, thanks to her.”
A very welcome voice snaps up from beside me. “Stop talking to him like that.”
My dad looks at Liv, eyebrows still raised. He blinks at her, clearly not liking being spoken to by her instead of me.
“Who the hell are you?” he asks coldly.
I know there’s anger blazing up her spine because it feels like real fire being ignited at my side.
Indeed, she snarls, “You don’t get to wander up and be a prick to the son you haven’t seen in twenty-seven years and then askmewhoIam.”
I look at her for the first time in these last couple of overwhelming minutes. Her eyes are blue flames and color is high on her cheeks.
She is just fucking perfect.
It’s the sight of her that finally gets my brain back in working order.
“I’m ready to go home,” I tell her quietly.
She looks at me, too, with fierce support. “Yeah, it’s your call.” As I take a couple steps, she’s tugged along by her hand around my arm, and she turns to make sure she has a hold on Rae. “Come on, girlfriend.”
