The image of my father’s face when he caught my first lover’s hand between my legs and his hand wrapped around my throat flashed through my mind before I could stop it. As did the newspaper article about his body being discovered on the shores of Lake Washington three months later. My gut twisted even harder than my mind.
Tony had definitely not been a stranger.
After that, I’d been too scared to walk down that road again. And because my familial duty meant my future husband would eventually be negotiated, my father deemed any and all suitors out of the question.
Although maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself here. He said a drink not a relationship. Even if getting that drink was code for getting laid, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be more than once.
Tomorrow was a long way off and not every nightmare was destined to repeat itself.
And with freedom the possibilities were endless.
A girl could dream, right?