“A few days later he left for another trip, and by then Mom had a gut feeling he’d lied to her. She started doing some research. Long story short, she discovered he was married to someone else. That he had another family in Hartford: a wife and a daughter.”
“Oh no. How awful.”
“Needless to say, Mom was completely shocked, not to mention devastated. According to public records he’d married this woman a few years before he’d met Mom on a business trip here. I guess he fell in love with her, and they married less than a year later. Never mind the wife he already had.”
“So your parents’ marriage wasn’t even legal.”
“Nope.”
“Man, your poor mom. I can’t even imagine.”
“She pulled herself together and when he came home she confronted him. There was no denying it—she had public records as proof.” Chloe smirked. “He actually begged her not to tell his otherwife. Can you imagine? Apparently that was his only concern. Talk about a final death blow to my mom.”
“What nerve. I assume she didn’t give in to his pleas.”
“Oh no. My dad packed up his things. He said good-bye to Sean and me—I vividly remember that. I thought he was just leaving for a business trip, but his eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. I knew he’d been crying, but I didn’t understand why he was so upset. And I sure didn’t realize it would be the last time I’d see him.”
“Oh, Chloe.” Liam pressed a kiss to her hand. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
The memory always left her feeling so ashamed. Like there must be something wrong with her if even her dad didn’t love her. If he left her and never came back. After all, he had no problem being a father to his other daughter. Her eyes stung with tears, and her face filled with heat. The shame still held her in its grip all these years later. Good grief, maybe she needed therapy to resolve this.
She swallowed back the lump in her throat and shifted her thoughts. “Looking back now, I’m so proud of my mom. She was downright stoic. She picked up the pieces and went on. And yes, she did call that other wife—Maeve Daniels. But apparently the woman somehow forgave my father because they’re still married. Or they were last time I heard.”
“So there was no need for your mom to divorce him or anything. Was your father held accountable legally? He broke the law.”
“Bigamy is a felony but it’s rarely prosecuted. However, he cared deeply about his reputation and his career, so my mom decided to use that in her favor. Since our financial well-being was about to take a big hit, she threatened to sue him in a civil case. He decided it was in his best interest to settle. That’s how she got the funds to buy and renovate Docksiders.”
Liam grinned. “Good for her. She must be one strong woman.”
“She is. But as you can imagine, she didn’t particularly want wordgetting out around here. Small town and all that. The scuttlebutt was that she’d kicked him out for being unfaithful and they divorced and he never returned.”
“He got off pretty easy to my way of thinking. And I can’t imagine how a man could desert his kids like that. You must’ve been so confused.”
The pain of her father’s abandonment never quite left. “Honestly, it’s still baffling. I remember him as being an involved dad when he was home. He’d make pancakes in funny shapes. He taught me to swim and took us fishing.” She’d thought he loved them. But love didn’t run away. It didn’t desert. She blinked against the swell of tears in her eyes. “Sorry. It was all so long ago. I don’t know why this is hitting me fresh.”
Liam took hold of her chin. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. As for your dad, he has no idea what he’s missing out on. I almost feel sorry for him.”
Chloe gave a mirthless laugh. “Almost but not quite?”
“He doesn’t deserve you. But you and Sean sure deserved a lot better.”
Chloe took his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. “I think that might be something we have in common.”
Chapter35
Liam closed his eyes as Sophía powdered his face between takes.
“Why are the good complexions always wasted on the men?” she asked.
“If I have such a good complexion, why are you always covering it up under layers of makeup?”
“I have to at least act like I am earning my wages.” She tsked. “This sun is ruining my good work. I will be glad to return to the dry California climate. This heat and humidity is for the birds. There, the shine is gone—for all of two minutes, I am sure.”
When she moved on to Daisy, Liam chugged from his water bottle and glanced at Chloe in the video village. She tossed her head back, laughing at something Simone said. The sun hit her brown waves, bringing out copper highlights. Her smile dazzled.Shedazzled, from the inside out. She lit him up and he was finding he couldn’t get enough of her. He’d never felt this way about another woman. The thought struck him like a punch to the gut.
He was in love with Chloe.
This wasn’t an emotion he’d experienced before, and still he somehow knew with every fiber in his being that he felt it now. The realization left him breathless. As if a cement block were sitting on his chest, inhibiting its rise and fall.
