Page 14 of The Ring Thief
“My stomach was a bit unsettled last night,” I confide. “Probably something I ate.”
She nods in understanding. “I’ll get you a ginger ale.”
I stifle my grimace as she gathers the plates and takes them to the kitchen, hating every lie that falls from my lips. Anger at Declan boils just under my skin, everything in me blaming him for the situation I’m in.
Dad stands up, distracting me. “Let’s go into the living room.” Hewalks off without waiting for my agreement, and I roll my eyes, detouring into the kitchen to find Julie fixing our drinks.
“I’ll take those, Jules.”
She scrunches her nose up at the nickname, but the gleam in her eyes gives her away. “I’ve missed you around here,” she tells me. “Now that you’re living with a boy, you have to make sure you’re not a stranger.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” I come forward and press a swift kiss to her cheek, grinning when her face goes pink. “And I’d never give up your cooking, Jules.”
She bites back a smile and huffs. “That’s only because you can’t cook yourself.”
“Possibly.” I laugh at her dubious look. “Or most definitely.”
“Here.” She slides the drinks closer to me. “Take these, before your father starts thinking we’re talking about him.”
“But that’s exactly what I’m gonna tell him.”
She swats at me with a dish towel, and I dodge out of the way, grabbing the glasses and heading toward the living room. My father’s already comfortably ensconced in his favorite armchair, the daily news on the mounted television, volume muted.
“I don’t know why you keep watching this,” I complain. “It’s depressing as hell.” I pass him his whiskey before sitting on the couch, tucking my legs up under me and sipping at my drink.
“Thanks, Lilypad.” He takes a generous sip of his drink, ice clinking against the sides of the glass. “And it’s my way of keeping up to date with the world,” he says, keeping his eyes on a breaking headline about some celebrity being admitted to rehab.
“I can see why that’s important,” I drawl, ignoring the stink eye he sends me. “We were talking about you reaping the benefits,” I say, directing the conversation back to what we were talking about. “So, what’re your plans?” He’s been talking about selling his company over the last year, but hadn’t made up his mind yet.
“I’m selling. It’s official.” Just as I’m taking another sip, he casually adds, “And I thought I might take up salsa dancing.”
I splutter, covering my mouth to avoid spraying ginger aleeverywhere. “What?” He laughs at my expression. “That was about the last thing I expected you to say. Why salsa?”
“It seems fun,” he shrugs.
I watch him for a moment. “So, that’s it, then? You’re really selling Hi-Tech?” I press my lips together, cocking my head. “You’ve spent your entire life building the company from the ground up. Are you sure giving that up is what you want?”
He looks away, his expression contemplative. “I’ve spent my entire life working, Lilypad. Even when I was needed elsewhere. I think it was leftovers from my own father, making me believe that if I wasn’t working, I was letting my family down. After your mother—” he presses his lips together tightly, my mother being a subject we tended to avoid. “After that, I buried my head in the sand, really. I knew you needed me at home, but I lost myself in the company, too focused on just providing for you. There’s not a lot I regret in my life, but that…” He shakes his head, eyes bright with emotion when he turns to look at me. “That’s a big one.”
“I didn’t miss out on anything, growing up like that. Dad, you gave me everything I needed.”
“That’s kind of you, but it’s also not true. There’s more to life than financial security.” He looks over at me, his expression unusually solemn. “When you first brought Declan to meet me, I was worried. Our families…” His forehead creases, mouth pulling down at the corners. “There’s a dark history there, and I thought?—”
Dark history? I stare at him wide-eyed, because this is news to me. “You thought, what?”
He grimaces, sending me an apologetic look. “I thought he might have an ulterior motive for courting you.” Unable to help myself, I snort at the word courting, and he grins. “Sorry, would ‘wooing’ be better?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Anyway, that history was all a long time ago, and it became clear he was all in with you.” He smiles wistfully, lost in his own world. “You were so beautiful in your dress, Lily. For a second, it was like seeing your mother on our wedding day.” He blinks rapidly, like he’s clearing a fog from his vision. “Walking you down the aisle was something I always dreamed about. Dreamed and dreaded, I suppose.”
“Dreaded?” I ask, unable to help the small curl of amusement.
He taps his fingers along the side of his glass. “You’re my only child, my daughter. I couldn’t bear the thought of literally giving you away to someone else. But the way Declan’s eyes lit up when he saw you?” His smile was crooked. “That man is so gone for you, it’s not even funny.”
He doesn’t seem to notice how tense I’ve gone, his mind still in the past. “My entire career was spent working towards more. What I had was never enough, not when I wanted you to have stability.” He glances around the room, eyes touching on the large original landscape painting sitting above the marble fireplace, the high vaulted ceilings, and the oversized cashmere furniture—made to order. “I built this house,” he murmurs quietly, “and I filled it with everything you could possibly need; everything you could want. But I forgot to give you a home.”
“Dad—”
