Her eyes widened. “No. Of course not.” Blowing out a long breath, she hurried back around the sofa and sat down. She held my gaze, hers full of concern that baffled me. “My dad doesn’t even know we were … friends.”
Friends.
Bitterness threatened, but I shoved it back down. “Okay …?”
Scrubbing a hand over her face, Beth groaned. “I’m really sorry, Callan, but I think my dad is holding who your dad is against you.”
I grimaced. I hadn’t spoken to my birth father in years. “What does that mean?”
“Do you remember the parents’ evening at Drimwhinnie? The one your dad came to.”
How could I forget? The next day Beth stopped talking to me. I shrugged, pretending like I vaguely remembered.
“My dad saw your dad there, and he got really weird and angry. We went home and he wouldn’t tell me why. So I eavesdropped on my parents.” For some reason, Beth would no longer meet my eyes. She stared at the floor. “I found out that your dad, Gavin, was my dad’s friend. Until he slept with my dad’s first wife.”
What. The. Fuck.
Of all the many things I imagined she might say, that was not one of them.
“My dad never forgave Gavin. And then from the sounds of it, I think your dad also tried it on with my mum. And he tried to get my dad in trouble with his business and the police. Dad was furious to see him at the school. He thinks your dad is dangerous, and he didn’t want me anywhere near Gavin. It kind of created some tension between my parents. I didn’t want to cause any problems between them …” Beth raised her eyes, and I saw guilt roiling in them. “Dad asked me if I knew you, and I lied and said no to keep the peace.”
It was like a fucking gut punch. I tried to cover how much this information affected me. My expression blanked and I let this coldness creep through my body. Protecting myself from her words.
“So, you started avoiding me,” I stated flatly.
Beth nodded, shamefaced. “It wasn’t just that. You remember Amanda? She liked you … and she was hurt too. She thought I’d chosen you over her. Between that and … You have to understand, I was only a kid, Callan. Everything was life or death back then. I wasn’t thinking rationally. All I was thinking was that I didn’t want to cause drama with my family, and that Amanda was so loyal, and I hated hurting her feelings … and I’d do all that if I dated you. But I didn’t handle it well. I should have explained instead of avoiding you.”
I knew she was a kid.
I knew I shouldn’t hold this against her.
She chose her family and Amanda over me. I shouldn’t hold that against her.
But it had seemed so easy for her … when I felt like my guts were being ripped out after she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with me.
On the outside, I remained cool, unaffected. “I have nothing to do with Gavin. He’s out of my life. And I want that meeting with Braden.”
Beth winced. “I just … I don’t see it happening. My dad is usually the most understanding, perceptive guy ever … but when it comes to your dad, he has this huge wall up.”
I leaned forward. “I helped you out with Samuel. You’re going to help me out with this.”
Beth scowled. “I won’t make my dad do something he doesn’t want to do.”
I stood, towering over her. “I want that meeting, Beth. I don’t care if it fucks with your precious daddy-daughter relationship. You owe me for dropping me in high school without a fucking wordandfor helping you out with Samuel.”
“Captain—”
“You owe me, Beth.”
“Fine.” She tore her gaze from mine. “I’ll think about it.”
Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I said, “I’ll give you my number so you can contact me when you’ve made the right decision.”
Beth huffed. “What part of ‘I’ll think about it’ do you not get?”
“I’ll need an answer either way, won’t I?” I shook my phone at her.
With a huff of exasperation, she pushed off the couch and then cut me a dark look when I refused to budge to let her past. She was forced to slide by, her breasts brushing my chest. I gritted my teeth. Should have gotten out of her way.
