Page 91 of Perfect (mis)Match

“What do you mean?” I asked. “As I recall,you’rethe one who ended every relationship.”

“Numbers two through four? Sure, that was me. But the only one that mattered? Your mother made that choice, thanks to my mistake.”

I was in no mood to sift through the past. I’d heard his excuses before.

“Do you know that I begged her to forgive me? I literally got down on my hands and knees and told her I’d do anything she wanted, if she’d take me back.”

I frowned at him. “That’s not how Mom tells the story. She said you cheated, it was messy, and then you divorced. And then six months later you were dating someone new.”

“Revisionist history, plus the amnesia of time,” he scoffed. “Given what you’re going through, I think it’s important for you to know the truth. Yes, I made a terrible mistake on that business trip, but I confessed to your mom the minute I got back, assuming that it was something we could move past. I can still remember her face when I told her.”

I could’ve sworn his eyes brimmed, like the pain was still fresh for him.

“I tried so hard to win her back. Gifts, surprises, love notes…nothing worked. It was too little too late. The one thing she’d wanted from me wasme, not all the stuff. And by the time I realized that, she was done with me. So I did my best to fill thevoid in my heart, thinking that if I could just fall in love again, I’d be fine. Then I tried to fill it with adventure. I was looking for that serotonin hit. That high. But nothing even came close to what I’d shared with your mother. She was irreplaceable.”

I shifted as the word echoed around my head.

Irreplaceable.

I was familiar with someone like that.

“You know how it looked from the outside, right?” I asked him. “All of those relationships made it seem like you never took marriage seriously at all—like love was never more than a temporary whim that ran its course and then disappeared.”

He let his head fall back against the pillow. “I know. Your old man just can’t stop making mistakes.” He sat up and locked onto me. “I’m hoping you didn’t inherit that tendency from me.”

I’d been gifted with my father’s head for business, his drive, and even his looks, but the idea that this desperate, needy part of him was within me as well was a concept I couldn’t stomach.

I was more comfortable standing alone. The insecurity of giving your heart away? That sounded horrifying. I wasn’t about to open myself up to the same sort of brokenhearted bullshit my dad went through.

“She loved me too, you know,” he continued. “So much. Seems funny to think about it now, given how I’m just a footnote in her life. But back in the beginning?” He let out a low whistle. “We were something else. We’d stay in bed fordays.”

“Dad, come on,” I complained. “I don’t need to hear that stuff.”

He chuckled. “It wasn’t just the amazing sex. We were a team, you know? We viewed the world the same way. We could finish each other’s sentences. She walked me to the door every damn day and sent me on my way with a hug and a kiss, then was there waiting for me with more when I got home.” His expression darkened. “But time does things to a relationship. Summit kept growing. I needed to focus on it completely to keep up with the momentum. Your mom understood, but then I started pulling away from her. Not because I wanted to. Because I thought I had to, especially once you were born. I’d watched my own father retreat into his work. I thought that was what you did—that was what it meant to be a provider. And now you know how that turned out for me.”

A nurse bustled in to take his vitals, giving us both a chance to breathe. The second she left, my dad was back at it.

“I’m begging you, Vincent. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Based on the way Piper was acting, I’m assuming you were the one to end things. I want you to think long and hard about that. You were good together—I saw it with my own eyes. And she’s special. Just like your mother.”

I stared down at my hands. He was right: Piper was unlike anyone I’d known before. But true to my legacy, I’d fucked it all up.

“Dad, she’s done with me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” he said. “She’s hurting, but she still cares for you. So go to her and tell her you were an asshole but you’ve seen the light, and you’ll do anything to make it right between you.” He paused as pain flooded his face. “I don’t want you to end up like me.”

I reached over to squeeze his arm. He pulled me into a bear hug and slapped me on the back. Damn. It was exactly what I needed.

“Go get your girl,” he whispered in my ear. “Before it’s too late.”

28

PIPER

“Pinch me,” Darcy said as she kicked up her feet on her new desk. “Is this real life?”

“You sitting and me working feels very real life to me,” I joked as I broke down a cardboard box.

“Don’t you dare,” she scolded me. “This is the first time I’ve taken a break in three days.”

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