Page 88 of Joker in the Pack

“Can you call him?”

Could I call him? Nye made it sound so easy. Like I could just pick up the phone and dial the man who’d shattered my childhood.

“Liv, what’s up? You’ve gone white.”

“I haven’t spoken to my father in a decade,” I whispered.

Nye crouched beside me and took my hands in his, making me feel dainty yet insignificant at the same time. Pluto to his sun.

“What happened, babe?”

“He ran off with his secretary when I was twelve, and I haven’t seen him since. I don’t even know where he is.”

“What about other relatives?”

I shook my head, fighting back tears. “There’s no one.”

He enveloped me in his arms, and that hug took some of the pain away.

“Shit always happens to the sweetest people. Sometimes, I think karma’s playing a joke on us.”

Sometimes, yes. I nestled into Nye and breathed in his scent—a woodsy cologne over musk that was all man. His warmth seeped into me, and I never wanted to move again. Sometimes, karma came through.

“We can ask in the village about Eleanor,” Nye said into my hair. “Are you up to paying Carol another visit?”

“I survived the first one, so why not?”

He pulled back and gave me a lopsided smile. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m the one who’s gonna be in trouble. I’ll have a flak jacket sent over.”

Nye found Carol’s number and tried calling her, but there was no answer.

“She’s probably gone out to a gossip session,” I said. “WI meeting, knitting society, that sort of thing.”

“Let’s go tomorrow morning. She’ll be around at breakfast if she’s got guests in.”

“What do we do now?”

“I’ll get the geeks in the office to search in the meantime, but for you, I’d suggest dinner and an early night. Want me to order takeout?”

“No, I’m fine to make dinner.” After all, that was what I’d promised.

Even though I felt jittery inside, I knocked out a quick spaghetti bolognese with a chocolate fondant for dessert. Nye cleaned his plate and had seconds.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you could cook, were you?”

“Baking’s more my thing, really, but I’m glad you liked it.”

“There’s only one thing more delicious in this room, and I’m looking at her.”

Was it possible for feet to blush? Because I’m pretty sure mine did. I flushed from head to toe. Nye got up and walked towards me, and I waited in anticipation, every nerve ending aflame.

He carried on walking.

When he got to the sink, he put his hands on the edge and stared through the window at the darkness.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. Not to you.”

I stood up. “What do you mean? Why not?”

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