“As she should be. As am I!” Blake was being loud again. “Call her. Ask her to fly out immediately.”
“She works, darling,” Ned said. “She can’t drop everything and fly out here.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s the Executive Fashion Editor at Millicent.”
With what was wafting off Blake, Dair had the urge to step back.
Instead, he positioned behind her and curled his fingers around her hips in case she physically lost it.
“You’re telling me you’ve been keeping your girlfriend, the Executive Fashion Editor of the greatest fashion magazine ever, from me?” Blake asked in a deceptively quiet voice. Then she screeched, “Me?”
“It had to be the right time to tell you both,” Ned defended himself.
“And when would that be? The next millennium?” Blake returned.
Ned’s jaw grew hard. “I did what I thought was right.”
“Well, Dad, it was wrong. Phone her. Tell her I want to meet her. Alex will too. I mean, seriously?”
“I’m pleased this is your response,” Ned said.
“And what did you think it would—?” Blake cut herself off and then she spoke snidely. “Oh, I know. You thought I’d throw a fit. Blake Sharp, up to her old tricks again.”
Dair dug his fingers into her flesh.
“Of course not,” Ned bit.
“So? Why? Over a year, Dad? Why?” she pushed.
“Because I was enjoying our time!” Ned shouted.
Blake stilled.
“I found the woman meant for me not long after I came to the realization I’d been a shit father and I needed to stand up for my girls!” Ned kept shouting. “You’ve bloomed into something extraordinary. Rix makes Alex happy. You girls love spending time together. I love spending time with you. But I also love to be with Marlo. What do I do? Which one of you do I disappoint?”
“Daddy, you being happy and spending time with a woman who you care about would never disappoint me or Alex,” Blake said softly.
“Marlo is a good woman. Sharp. Clever. Talented. Kind. Beautiful. But we’ve finally built something priceless, you girls and me. I didn’t want anything to disturb it,” Ned replied.
“Oh, Daddy!” Blake cried, pulled from Dair’s hold, rushed to her father and threw herself in his arms. After they held on for a while, Dair heard her say, “You must phone her. Tell her you told me. Tell her I’m annoyed with you for keeping her from me. And we’ll do lunch or something when we get home.”
“I’d love that, darling.”
Crisis over, Dair moved to leave them to it, and when he did, he saw his mother and sister had already left.
He joined them at the dining room table.
They both stared at him.
He picked up his cutlery and continued eating.
“Are they all right?” Davi asked.
“As rain,” Dair answered after swallowing potato that had soaked up au jus.
It was going on cold, but it was still fucking fantastic.
