He sets a soft kiss against her forehead, and my heart detonates.
Dad watches Emmett’s every move as he heads for the restroom, and I pick up my purse and approach the bar, rehearsing what I’m going to say right up until the point where I take the seat next to him.
In the end, it’s a long moment before either of us speaks. Dad is watching but not really absorbing the soccer game as it heads into halftime.
“Daddy Emmett sure is taking to the role like a duck to water.” His tone drips with sarcasm, and all I can do is respond with facts.
“He’s incredible with Blake, and she loves him too.”
At the use of the L-word, Dad’s eyes meet mine before they’re back on the TV.
Sarcasm is replaced with disdain when he asks, “Is he still giving you money?”
“You make it sound like he’s buying access to me and my daughter when you couldn’t be further from the truth,” I challenge, done with the passive-aggressive way this conversation has started.
“That’s precisely what he’s doing, Bill,” Dad volleys back.
I huff out a despondent breath and ask the bartender for a Diet Coke.
“With the way you’re carrying on right now, it’s almost like you never knew Emmett before you found out about us dating.”
He winces as I finish up my sentence, taking another mouthful of beer, likely to wash away reality.
“I didn’t know him before,” he argues. “Sometimes, it takes years for people to show you their true colors, no matter how well you thought you knew them. Look at Maria.”
Anger swells in my gut. “Emmett is nothing like Maria, andyou know it. That’s a really unfair comparison to make. And a really hurtful one too,” I tag on.
He just scoffs at that, finally turning to look at me. Maybe it’s the bar lighting, but Dad’s face is way more drawn than the last time I saw him a week ago. Just like Mom in my apartment, he looks like he’s merely going through the motions of life, no longer thriving in the close relationships he once had. Including with me and Emmett. I’m desperate to wrap my arms around his large frame, like he has done so many times with me, and whisper a promise that everything will be okay. And I would, if I thought he would listen.
“You want to know what’s hurtful? Finding out that your friend has betrayed you in the worst way possible and pulled your only daughter and her baby into his post-divorce midlife crisis.”
I shake my head at him, and he nods back.
“Mark my words, sweetheart. In six months, this will all end in disaster. Freya and I will be the ones picking up the pieces of your life.”
“My life is going great,” I clarify. “I just got offered a position as a legal intern at a friend’s law firm.”
Swallowing another mouthful, he sets his glass back down. “Freya told me all about it. I’m happy for you.”
Everything, even landing my dream job, is overshadowed by this goddamn mess that no one seems able to fix.
I gaze over at my dad as he watches the halftime commercials.
Nothing is ever going to be the same again, is it? The devastating damage Emmett feared is being perpetuated by my stubborn dad, who won’t even hold a reasonable conversation with me, let alone his former best friend.
“Have you heard from Tucker?”
“Why would it matter if I had?” I snap, right on the edge of losing my cool.
He lifts a single shoulder. “He’s Blake’s real father, and I wanted to check that he was at least keeping his end of the bargain.”
My parents don’t have a clue about Tucker’s visit to Brooklyn, and right now, that’s the way I intend to keep it. If Dad caught wind that Tucker had asked me to get back with him—even if it was for all the wrong reasons—Dad would likely try to set me back up with my ex, his deluded mind convinced that Tucker and his dreadful family would be a better match for me and Blake than the man I’m actually in love with.
“He pays the bare minimum, and that’s where his efforts end. Emmett is way more of a real father than Tucker will ever be.”
My words bounce off Dad’s impenetrable armor.
“Bill?”
