Page 60 of Impending Consent

"That's what you're focusing on?" Skylar grinned. “Sail, you have bigger issues than a name change…"

Before I could answer, the sound of footsteps silenced the room. A moment later my father appeared in the doorway and shifted the energy in the room.

He was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit like he was heading to court instead of enjoying dinner with his family.

His introspective gaze moved around the room before landing on me and shifting to Rival. "I assume this is the husband."

Rival stood and extended his hand. "Mr. Addison. Rival Hassan."

My father looked at his hand for a long moment before accepting. "Yes, I believe we've met. You were building something in my daughter's apartment."

Wonderful. This is going to be a fun evening…

"Yes, sir. Custom accent walls."

"And now you're her husband." My father's tone was condescending. "That's quite a promotion in a short time."

"Daddy? Can we talk about this civilly? Like adults?" I stepped forward, feeling a strange urge to protect Rival from my father's scrutiny.

"By all means." He gestured to the empty sofa. "Let's talk about how my daughter got married without a word to her family and how I had to find out from the groom over the phone in a random conversation he wasn’t a part of."

I sank onto the sofa beside Rival. Our thighs were touching and the warmth of him beside me grounded me in a way I hadn't expected but needed.

"I was going to tell you."

"When? After the honeymoon? After the divorce? Where exactly in your timeline did informing your family fall, Sailor?"

"Torrance," my mother warned softly.

He held up a hand but never took his eyes off me. “Don’t defend this foolishness, Shonda. I want to know what possessed our daughter to behave so recklessly."

"It wasn't reckless.”

"Really? Because from where I'm sitting, marrying a man you've known for what, a month, seems pretty damn reckless."

"Three months," Rival corrected and his voice was eerily calm and firm.

All eyes turned to him and I panicked. I didn’t want a war between my husband and my family. They would all stick together, which meant it would be just him against the Addison clan. Well…us two because I would definitely be in his corner.

Shit…

This is feeling very commitment-like, Sail.

"Three months? And in that time, you decided marriage was the logical next step?" My father’s sarcasm was incredibly loud.

"Sometimes you just know," Rival doubled down and locked eyes with my father. His dominance matched the man of the house.

My father's eyes narrowed. "What I know is that my daughter has never expressed the slightest interest in marriage. In fact, she's been vocally opposed to the institution. So you'll have to forgive my suspicion."

"People change, Daddy," I said, reaching for Rival's hand without thinking.

The moment our fingers intertwined, something settled. It felt right, natural, as if we had been doing this for years rather than days.

My father's eyes dropped to our joined hands. "And what prompted this sudden change of heart, Sailor?"

This was it. Shit, the moment of truth. I could feel TJ and Skylar watching me, waiting to see if I would tell the real story or continue with the bullshit.

I looked at Rival and he squeezed my hand, silently communicating his support, before I turned back to my family. "The truth is, we got married quickly. Too quickly. I had been drinking and made a decision that wasn't well thought out."

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