Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Dad had two younger sisters. He’d been beside himself when my cousin Noah had expressed interest in joining the family firm when he was in high school. Noah had since passed his CPA exams and had started working for Dad a couple of years ago.
“She kept our home. She took care of you kids,” Dad continued. “I’m not about to let her walk away with nothing.”
She also cheated on you and made your life miserable with her bitterness.
“It’s not my business,” I mumbled.
He reached across the table, so I put my knife down and took his hand.
“I love how much you love me. I love having your support. It means everything to me, Elsa.”
“I love you with my whole heart, Dad.”
“Well, I hope you have some space there for your mom.” He gave it a meaningful pause. “And your brother.”
I frowned. “I’ll do my best not to be too confrontational with Mom.” That was weak, but it was all I had in that moment. “But you’re going to have to let the me and Oskar thing go. If he represents her, we’re done. I mean…Dad, how can you ask that? It’s not cool what he’s doing…to you.”
“He’s my son.”
Why was my father such a good guy?
Why?
“And he’s your only brother,” he continued.
“He won’t be, if he goes through with representing her.”
“You have a niece and nephew.”
“I’m sure they won’t return the birthday and Chanukah presents I send.”
“Elsa—”
“Dad, he’s never been nice to me. He’s never been brotherly. You and Aunt Deborah and Aunt Ruth get together, and you act like teenagers, laughing and telling stories about growing up. You should see Hale’s face when he talks about Chloe and Sasha and Matt. He just exudes love for them. He thinks the world of them. I don’t have that.” I squeezed his hand. “And that’s okay. It’s not your fault. You tried. I could see it. Feel it. But it just wasn’t there. Some families aren’t close. And it isn’t a good thing to try to force it. I don’t mean to hurt you when I say, he’s no loss. In fact, I understand what you mean. If I don’t have to try with Oskar anymore, it’ll be a relief.”
I saw his pain at that, wished I hadn’t said what I said, but he wiped it clear when he gave my hand a return squeeze, let me go, and changed the subject.
“Perhaps now we should talk about Hale.”
Ugh.
“Okay, since we’re coming clean tonight, you should know, Hale agreed to be my fake date the night we came to dinner,” I confessed.
Dad’s chin ticked into his neck.
“I know. It was Fliss’s idea. It was a lark. He offered to run interference, and I took him up on it, I’ll admit, mostly because it’d get under Oskar’s skin.”
“So…what? You’re just friends?”
“No. The fake date became a real date. Stuff then got weird. We sorted it out. And we’re dating. For real now.”
“I guess I understand,” he said like he didn’t at all.
“We’re good,” I said softly, and watched my dad’s focus intensify on my face. “I like him a lot.”
“I can tell,” he replied in my tone.
“Did you like him?”
“He takes no shit, and he doesn’t sit back and let you take it either. And that was when you were fake.”
I shot him an apologetic smile.
“I’d worry about this fame and the attention that brings,” Dad continued. “But you’re catching up to him in that regard.”
At that, I grinned.
“I’m lucky. I’ve never had to tell my girl to be smart,” he said. “She always is. But please guard your heart, shayna punim, because I can’t always be there to do it for you.”
Oh my God.
I totally loved my dad.
I swallowed my emotion, but my voice still held it when I said, “I love you to pieces, Dad.”
“I’m glad, because that’s how I feel about you.” Then he winked mischievously, looking more Dad than he had since I sat down. “And I won’t tell your mother, sister and brother about the fake date. I was at brunch with your sister when she scrolled through the pictures on your website of the gala and saw the one of you and Hale. And obviously I don’t play favorites…”
“Obviously,” I drawled.
“But I found her reaction amusing.”
For the first time since I got there, I laughed.
And my heart still hurt, my mind was still reeling, but I sure was glad when he laughed too.
CHAPTER 14
ALL THE TIME. CONSTANT.
Hale
Then…
“Tell him to go fuck himself,” his mother said into the phone, and Hale knew she was talking to one of his dad’s attorneys. “That’s my time this year and I’m not allowing Hale to go to Thailand with him. Tell him, not a fucking chance.”
On that, she hung up.
Hale sat at the kitchen table, struggling with the variety of emotions he was feeling.