“Against me? How so?”
Mouth set in a firm line, Brenner laughed with little humor behind it. “Are you serious? Didn’t you hear what that reporter asked?”
“Yes. And?” If I was to convince Brenner that their questions meant nothing, I’d have to be the best I could be. I might’ve teased and taunted him in law school, but no one had ever pushed me to be a better lawyer than Brenner Fleming.
“And?Come on. They’ve obviously been doing some digging into my past, and they plan to use it against your father.”
“Bren, have you told me everything you know?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“And I don’t care. Their questions are directed toward my father’s campaign, not our relationship. He has nothing to do with us.”
“No, that’s not true.” Exasperated, he made a fist and banged his knee. “You’re trying to reconcile with your father. I can’t stand in the way of you having a relationship with him and your sister and ruin his campaign. It’s not fair to you.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold up.” I unbuckled my seat belt. We were fast approaching the Waldorf, and I had only minutes to speak. “First of all, I’m not trying to reconcile with him. I’m going to meet my sister. Second, I don’t give a damn about his campaign or what he thinks about my life. There’s only one person who matters when it comes to that.”
Brenner shook his head. “But if you have the chance…if he asks you to make that choice—”
“You. I choose you. Now, today, next week, next month, next year. I’ll always choose you. I took my first step in this new life with you. Now I’m ready to walk the path together.”
The car stopped, and I held out my hand. “Are we good?”
He sighed. “I guess so.”
I tugged at his hand. “The Brenner Fleming I knew in law school wouldn’t take shit lying down. He’d fight for what he wanted.”
We entered the hotel and received side-eyes and outright stares, but I ignored everyone. My mission was to meet Emily, and if my father chose to be a civil human being that was a bonus, but nothing more. His earlier ugly words still burned sour in my gut, and I had to wonder if the turnaround was real or merely for show.
Several security people lounged outside his suite, and when I showed them my identification, their brows rose high, but they stepped aside. My heart banged as I knocked on the door. It opened, and Paige stood before me.
“Hello, Weston. Please come in.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, you brought—”
“Brenner. Yes. May we come in?”
“Of course.”
We entered the suite, but my father wasn’t there. She motioned for us to sit.
“Please. I have water, coffee, juice.” A charcuterie platter was on the table as well as one of fruit.
“Nothing for me, thanks.” Brenner shook his head as well. “Is Emily here?” I glanced around. There were no toys or dolls or anything that might’ve indicated a child was staying there.
“Yes. My nanny is just getting her ready.” On cue, the bedroom door opened, and an older woman appeared, holding a little girl’s hand. She ran into Paige’s arms but kept shooting me looks from under her lashes. Joy leaped through me, and I wiggled my fingers at her. Paige smoothed her curls.
“Emmy. This is Weston.”
I licked my dry lips. “Hi, Emmy.”
She snuggled into Paige. “Hi,” she said after a few seconds.
“That’s a pretty dress.”
Her face brightened. “Daddy gave it to me.” She fingered the lace at the bottom, then pointed to Brenner. “Who’s that?”
Tension radiated from Brenner, but I kept my cool. “This is my friend Brenner.”
“Is he your best friend? My best friend is Mandy. She’s going to be five.”
