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“Well, you’re not my client. I didn’t have you fill out any paperwork or even charge you before, but heck, now that I know you’re rich, I’ll gladly take a retainer to keep that information to myself.”
“Eh,” Emmett muttered dismissively. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to keep the secret much longer. I can’t keep lying to everyone, especially Maddie. If this town can overlook Norman Chamberlain’s secret love child, I think that finding out I’m a secret millionaire will be a nonissue.”
“I don’t know,” Logan said. “The Chamberlains get away with a lot more than us normal folk.”
“I’m in love with a Chamberlain. Does that count for anything?”
Logan’s eyes widened in surprise and Emmett realized what he’d just said. “Wow. You just went there.”
Emmett sighed and leaned his palms on the countertop. “I guess I did.” He felt better for it, too. It was like a weight had been lifted from his chest by letting it out. It’d been a long time since he’d considered something that serious with a woman, but he knew that Maddie was different. He may not have meant to say it, or even realized it before he did, but it was true.
“And if I do love her, I can’t lie to her anymore. She needs to know the truth. If she’s really the woman I fell for, it won’t change anything when she finds out the truth about my money. Right?”
Logan raised his hands in surrender. “I don’t know. I’m no relationship expert by a long shot. But in my book, you can’t go wrong with telling the truth. Even if you and Maddie don’t get back together, it’ll be one less worry on your mind.”
He knew Logan was right. He had to figure out the right way to go about this. Over the last few weeks, Maddie had gone through such a transformation. She’d started as a spoiled brat who grated on his nerves and now she was a woman he couldn’t stop thinking about.
But why would she listen to him after the way he treated her?
“I don’t think she’ll want to see me,” Emmett said. “I don’t want to go to the bakery and put her on the spot with customers around, but I’m not sure how else to get her to talk to me.”
“You need a grand gesture,” Logan said. “Like in the movies. Something that shows you’re serious and you’re willing to do something crazy to convince her of the truth, even if it means facing your fears or looking like a fool.”
Facing his fears? Emmett realized what he had to do in that moment, as conflicted as he was about it. His stomach ached with dread even as the plan started to formulate in his mind. “Perfect,” he said aloud with a smile crossing his face.
Now, all he needed was a can of spray paint, good weather, and all the nerves he could gather.
The front door chimed and Maddie had to remind herself to go out front. Usually, Gertie was watching the counter, but today she’d asked for the afternoon off to study for a geometry test tomorrow.
Maddie wiped off her hands and went out into the shop, stopping short as she saw her father standing at the bakery case.
“Hey, sugar,” he said with a smile that normally would’ve sent her running into his arms for a big hug.
“Hey, Daddy.” Maddie moved behind the counter, keeping the glass case between them.
Norman didn’t bother to push the issue. “The shop looks wonderful. You’ve done an amazing job with it over the summer.”
Normally, she would’ve basked in his praise, but not today. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“I noticed you haven’t been to Sunday dinner lately.”
She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Granny already yelled at me, so no need for you to do it, too.”
“I’d never yell at you, sugar. You’re my little girl.” He repeated his pet name for her, weakening her resolve, but she gripped the counter to stay put. “I’ve made a point to talk to all the kids about what happened on Halloween. Since you haven’t been by the house, you’re the last one I need to talk to. I know finding out about Logan like that was probably a shock to all of you.”
“But not to you, right?” she challenged.
Norman sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “No, I knew. I’m not proud of it, Maddie. I didn’t handle the situation well at all, and once I realized that, it was too late to do anything about it. Kate had married Vince Anthony and everyone believed Logan was his son. To come out and announce otherwise would’ve been more hurtful than helpful. So I kept my distance.”
Very noble of him. “And how does Mama feel about all this?”
Norman’s lips tightened for a moment. “Your mama understands that all this happened before we got married. She’s not pleased about me keeping it from her or the fact that it surfaced as a scandal for the family, of course, but we’ll weather this storm like any other.”
Maddie didn’t know what to say to that. Her mother obviously had reasons for sticking with her father through this, but she didn’t know what those could be.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” Norman pressed.
“What do you want me to say, Daddy? That I forgive you? I’m not the one to give you absolution. And even if I were, I don’t know that I could. You’ve been the most important man in my life since I was a baby. Through everything that has happened over the years with Joel and other guys, you were the one man who I trusted completely. But I was doing better. My relationship with Emmett was going really well, and I thought that he might be another man who I could love and trust. But I turned on him. I accused him of terrible things because I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that you’d lied to me, to everyone, about something so important. If I couldn’t trust you, how could Emmett be any different? He had to be lying just like all the other men in my life. I ruined what we had because of you.”
