Page 185 of Damaged Protector

“You know, with the nurse thing.”

Her pretty face crushed up into a scowl. “You weren’t a dick. You just weren’t in the mood, and that’s okay.”

“So, you’re not mad at me?”

She took the bright-green vase and shook her head. “No, but I’ll take your peace offering anyway.” Dipping her nose into the blooms, she inhaled. “These are a gorgeous color of yellow. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Little Bee. Did you talk to your dad today?”

Her eyes widened dramatically. “Oh my god, you have to hear this. Come sit down.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me across the living room, setting the flowers on the coffee table and sitting with one leg folded beneath her.

“Did you two meet or did he come over here?”

“He came here. We sat down and started talking. He asked me if there was anything else I needed to tell him, and I said no. I mean, there are about a million little things over the years, but nothing that really stood out as something I needed to tell him.”

I listened and watched as she dragged a fingertip over the seam of the couch. “He’s asking her for a divorce.” Mallori’s beautiful eyes looked up at me for a reaction. “Do you think it’s my fault?”

“Angel, no,” I said, pulling her across my lap. “You are the one person who’s completely blameless in all this.”

Her lips twisted to the side. “Except for being stupid and gullible.”

“You were very sheltered as a child, Mal, and that wasn’t your fault.”

She nodded and nestled her nose against the side of my neck. “That’s what Dad said too, and he told me it wasn’t just about what he found out yesterday. It’s been ongoing since I left.”

“What has?”

“My mother driving him insane. She’s gone all stage-five clinger on him. She calls at least twenty times a day while he’s at work, and he can’t even go alone to play golf with his buddies. She invites herself along and sits in the golf cart.”

“Yeah, that’s not healthy. It’s like she took her attachment to you and transferred it to your father.”

Mal bobbed her head up and down against my shoulder. “That’s exactly what I thought too. He said what came out yesterday was the straw that broke the camel’s back and that there was no way he could stay with a woman who abused his daughter.”

“That’s because he’s a good dad, baby. You’re his number one priority, as you should be.”

Her warm breath gusted across my neck. “We both got a raw deal when it comes to mothers.”

“We did,” I agreed, “but we have other people in our lives that make up for it.”

Mallori popped her head up, her eyes round. “I totally forgot to ask you how things went at work today. Did you see Cam?”

“I did.”

“Did you fight?”

“Actually, no. We talked.”

“Like real grown-ups?” she asked, clutching imaginary pearls in mock surprise.

I pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Yes, my little smartass, and we got our shit straightened out.”

“I was so pissed at him,” she complained. “He acted like a giant ass.”

“He knows that now. He was upset because… well, he knows how I am. Or how I was, and he didn’t want that for you.”

Mal’s voice turned thoughtful. “But he only saw what you showed him.”

“Exactly. He’s only seen my dark side. Hell, I didn’t even know I had another side until I met you.”

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