Page 47 of Worth the Vow

Me: Don’t tell your dad where I am. If he asks you where, you can tell him tomorrow. But if he doesn’t ask you, don’t offer up the information.

Sienna: He’s really mad. I just heard him shouting on the phone.

Me: He never gets mad. Maybe actually expressing some anger would be good for your dad.

Sienna: Maybe. I’ll miss you this weekend, Kate.

Me: I’ll miss you too, sweetheart.

Turning off the phone, I follow Matt into his home, ready for a weekend of no drama with my faux-husband.

It turns out Matt was right. I did need a good night of sleep. Their pull-out couch in the basement is surprisingly comfortable, and it was well after dawn before Silas demanded to greet the visitor.

“What does Aunt Kate want for breakfast?” Matt asks as I take a seat at their kitchen table. My breath catches in shock.

“Oh, wow,” I breathe.

“What?”

“I knew I was his aunt, but I’ve never heard it out loud before. I’m an auntie!” I gush. Victoria walks in, and Silas toddles over to her. Once she picks him up, she comes to give me a hug.

“My girls think of you as Aunt Kate too, you know. I’m an only child, so they’re willing to take on anyone even remotely related to them,” she tells me with a giggle. “They latched onto Matt’s mom with incredible strength.”

“Family is important,” Matt says, looking over his shoulder and giving me a wink.

“Speaking of family,” I say, clearing my throat, “Have you spoken to Dad recently?”

Our father is in prison for a variety of bad decisions, some of which involved me. He crashed on my couch for a bit, and told me his wife had kicked him out. I found out later he was going through a divorce with Matt’s mom, and it was his girlfriend who kicked him out. He’d been lying about work, had off-shore bank accounts, and even had charges of bribing county and state officials. He’s serving a ten-year sentence.

Matt laughs bitterly. “No. I’ve got every single number from the prison blocked on my phone, and anytime a call comes in as unknown, I refuse to answer. If he calls me, it’s because he wants something. Does he call you?”

“Every now and again, yeah,” I admit softly.

“What’s he ask for?” Matt asks bluntly.

I sigh. “Usually money. But he knows I have none to give. Recently he’s been asking me to visit him.”

“Don’t do it. Do not go visit him, Kate.” Matt’s voice is hard as he mixes pancake batter.

“I was thinking I might just go and tell him not to contact me again,” I confess.

“No. Dammit, Kate. No! It won’t go well for you. He’ll somehow gaslight you into making it your fault that he’s in prison.”

I feel my eyes filling with tears as I blurt out, “I already lost one parent, and I don’t want to lose another.”

Matt sighs, putting down the bowl and whisk. He crouches down next to my chair. “He was never a parent to you. I know that’s tough love, but he wasn’t. The two of you share some DNA. My mom views you as a surrogate daughter, and I know my aunt really loves you, too.”

“I think she was really upset to not get invited to the fake wedding.”

“If we’re being honest, I was too.” Matt stares at me, his eyes so much like Dominic’s that it’s making me feel guilty about everything.

“I didn’t want to invite anyone. It’s not real. I don’t want my family coming to a fake wedding. I want them to come to a real one. If I ever get married again, that is,” I stammer.

“Do you think you won’t have a real wedding?” Victoria asks quietly.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve never had good luck with men, and I certainly don’t have spare time to pursue a relationship. If life keeps continuing the way it is, I’ll be the old spinster pouring drinks at the hole-in-the-wall bar in Eternity Springs when I’m eighty.”

“I highly doubt that,” Matt chuckles. He shifts to slide into the chair beside me. “You don’t see men looking at you.”

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