Page 105 of Defend Me

Noah nods. “I believe in you,” he says softly.

I head back to the house, close the French doors to the kitchen and reset the alarm. Suddenly, a voice makes me jump.

“What do you think you are doing?”

My father stands in the kitchen, half concealed in darkness.

“Dad,” I say, pressing my hand against my chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Whatdo you think you are doing?” he says again.

“I—I was talking to Noah about the case,” I stammer. Technically that’s true.

Dad’s glower pierces through the gloom. “Do you consider me an idiot?”

“No,” I say quickly.

“I know you have been going out to see him at night. Do you think I don’t check the cameras? Do you think I am unaware ofthe alarm system being turned on and off? I am not stupid, Siobhan.”

“I know,” I say, then add. “I’m not stupid either.”

It’s not as if I’ve been prancing around kissing Noah in public.

“You think I haven’t noticed the change between you two?” he says. “You couldn’t stand being in the same room with him. And now you’re thick as thieves. You’re sneaking out to spend extra time with him.”

I hesitate. There’s no bullshitting with my father. The only option here is the truth. “I’m falling in love with him, Dad,” I admit. “But it’s…on hold. I swear, nothing is going on right now. I won’t put my career, or Noah’s freedom, at risk.”

I hold my breath, waiting for the inevitable tirade. Irresponsible, risking the family’s reputation, how could I be so foolish, etc.…

Instead, my father does something I don’t expect. He gazes out the back windows toward the guesthouse, his expression thoughtful. “You’re falling inlove?”

“Uh…yeah,” I say, feeling confused. Where’s all the condemnation and cold glares?

“And Noah feels the same?”

“I—yes,” I say. I was gearing up for a fight, but my father seems…almost amused? A faint smile ghosts on his lips, and he shakes his head again.

“Um, Dad?” I say cautiously.

“All this time I’ve been pushing you in the wrong direction,” he says, almost to himself.

“You aren’t…mad?” I ask. “Noah’s not—well—he’s not like the other men I’ve dated.”

“No, he certainly isn’t,” Dad says. “But it has always seemed to me that you’ve never much liked the other men you’ve dated.”

“No,” I agree. “I don’t think I have.”

I shoot him a tentative smile. He returns it.

“If only your mother could have seen this,” he says, his voice soft as the moonlight. “She would have been so happy.”

I think I see the glint of a tear in my father’s eye, but he quickly turns his face away from me. The silence wraps around us. Dad takes a deep breath.

“You should get some sleep,” he says. “Big day tomorrow.”

Then he turns and walks out of the kitchen, leaving me breathless, my head spinning.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

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