Page 146 of Smooth Sailing

Hearing what?

“Dad—”

“Diana, really?—”

“Dad!” I snapped.

Hugger made a move to get up, which meant he let me go, and I didn’t like that at all.

“Maybe I’ll just—” he began.

“No.” I was still snapping. “You want to know me, you get to know this.”

“Diana,” Dad bit.

I stared Hugger in the eyes and whispered, “I need you, honey.”

A sort of manly wonder washed over his handsome face, a look I instantly adored.

It was quickly followed by a rush of warmth, and I adored that look too.

After gifting me with those, Hugger settled back in.

“Harlan and I are very honest with each other. We don’t hold anything back,” I declared to Dad, and I realized then we didn’t, and that was awesome.

“Fine then, maybe we can get into it later,” Dad replied.

“Is it something big?” I asked.

Dad took another sip of his drink.

Avoiding the question.

“Dad, is it something big?”

Again, my father locked eyes with me and he said, “Your mother was having an affair with Brendon Malley well before I began things with Nicole.”

I gasped so hard, I nearly choked.

“In fact, I’d already obtained a divorce attorney and had asked her for a divorce by the time I started things with Nicole,” Dad continued.

My mouth dropped open.

“Brendon came from family money,” Dad kept at it. “We were raising a daughter on one income and scraping together the money for me to buy in as an equity partner, and as such, I had to say no to Margaret too often for her liking. Brendon didn’t say no.”

The single most sucky part of this?

I believed it.

Every word.

“She cheated on you first?” I whispered, and Hugger’s hand was back at my neck, warm and snug.

I wanted to feel better with his touch, and I did.

But my father just rocked my world.

“She did,” Dad affirmed.

---