Page 51 of A Sweet Mess

The next morning, Aubrey couldn’t bear being alone with her thoughts, so she decided to take a stroll. Downtown Bosque Verde was charming and small enough to navigate on foot. The locals busily traversed the tidy streets, greeting one another as they passed, and the cluster of tiny shops beckoned with their warmth and charm.

But she didn’t see any of it. Not really.

Why?Landon had asked.

She might be a coward, but she was an honest one, and it was time to start facing some facts.Yeah. Why, Aubrey?

When her cell phone rang, relief flooded her at the reprieve, but then she saw who it was and her gut twisted with familiar anxiety. Her father rarely called, but when he did, he expected her to answer on the first ring. She let it ring five more times. If she sent him straight to voice mail, he’d probably have his secretary call her every five minutes until she picked up. Aubrey stared at her cell and considered smashing it against the sidewalk, but she couldn’t afford a new phone.

Grrr. Let’s get this over with.

“Yes.”

“Too busy to talk to your old man?” His voice was smooth and silky as a snake, and an involuntary shiver shook her.

“Say what you have to say. I’m not in the mood for chitchatting.”

“I see your manners haven’t improved. I can’t say I’m surprised.” He sighed impatiently like he’d grown tired of the niceties. “You’re coming home.”

“Oh, I’m going home—to Weldon—but not for another week.”

“Stop being a child. I’ve been more than patient in allowing you to play Little Miss Baker for the last few years. It’s time you grew up and accepted your responsibilities.”

“My responsibilities?” Aubrey’s fingers tightened around her phone, and she forced herself to breathe through her nose. “You want to marry me off to clinch a business deal? You always said that was a daughter’s duty to her family.”

“You flatter yourself. You think all it takes is a pretty face and a high school diploma to marry well?” he said. She’d applied for every college he’d chosen for her and had been accepted into all of them. Then she’d refused to attend any of them and left home to travel and gain real-world experiences. Years later, her decision still seemed to infuriate her father. “Only the most accomplished of your friends were able to make advantageous matches. Without my name and money, you’re nothing more thangood timematerial.”

Aubrey swallowed the expletive tickling her tongue when a young family strolled past her. “You and I obviously don’t share the same definition offriend.”

“Would you say Landon Kim is your friend?”

She’d just reached her bicycle when the ground rolled under her feet. Gripping the handle for balance, Aubrey hissed into the phone, “Stay out of my life.”

“You prefer to be a media clown’s plaything than a good man’s wife?”

She blanched at her father’s crude words and hated herself for letting him get to her.

“You will come home this minute. If you continue down this path, even my money and reputation won’t be enough to save you. I won’t stand by and watch you sully our family name any longer.”

“I lost count of how many mistresses you’ve had over the years.” Her laughter held an edge of hysteria. “There’s nothing left formeto sully, Father.”

“My personal business is my own. No one would dare question me. Even your mother turns a blind eye,” he said smugly.

Aubrey covered her mouth to stop her horrified gasp from escaping. To think, she’d once longed for this man’s love and approval.

“If you don’t come home of your own accord, then I’ll have no choice but to disown you.” He delivered his threat in a purr.

“Don’t hold your breath.” Realization hit her. His excuses about her bringing shame to the family were exactly that. Excuses. Maybe he really needed to marry her off to someone for his shady side business. Unfortunately for her father, she frankly didn’t give a damn. “As far as I’m concerned, I disowned you when I walked out of your house nine years ago.”

“Your mother will be very disappointed in you.”

“I’ve been disappointed in her for years,” she said, and then cringed at her knee-jerk reaction to her father’s meanness. She wasn’t disappointed in her mom. She never had been. It hurt her to see her mom stay with him and be hurt again and again. But that was her mom’s decision, and she wouldn’t question her anymore.

“I’ll be sure to tell her that,” he said.

Goddamn bastard.“She’ll know I didn’t mean it.” Aubrey pushed the heel of her palm against her eye.

Her father was the monster. Not her mom. When Aubrey was younger, she’d resented her mother for not leaving him. She’d shunned and lashed out at her mom. As she got older, Aubrey understood she wasn’t angry with her. She just couldn’t bear to watch her hurt so much. But the damage had been done, and she didn’t know how to close the rift she’d created between them.

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