Page 104 of Devious Temptation
“Dad, stop.” He roughly wipes at his eyes. “You’re a good dad. I just… I fucked up. That isn’t on you. Nothing you did excuses what I did.”
“Well, that’s… a very mature way of looking at it.” I run myhand through his shaggy, dark hair. “When did you get so grown up?”
He huffs a laugh, shrugging my hand away. “It’s funny. When your parents or someone you know is saying you fucked up, you don’t want to believe it. But all it takes is a stranger listening to your sob story and still telling you you’re in the wrong for you to finally get it.”
My brows dip together. “What do you mean?”
Rhys leans back in his chair, and a smile stretches across his face, as though he’s remembering what happened. “On the flight down here, I sat next to this guy who could tell I was going through something. When I left the house, I didn’t bother packing or showering, so I stank like whiskey and puke. Honestly, I’m so fucking embarrassed now that I think of it.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “The guy asked me what was wrong, and I just word-vomited everything. And you know what he said when I finished telling him my sob story?”
I shake my head.
“He told me his own story about how he once followed his wife to New York and asked her husband at the time how his dick tasted.” Rhys smirks, a short laugh escaping his lips as he shakes his head. “Said he ended up getting his ass beat by her husband’s cronies, and she even broke up with him for a while. He said sometimes people do stupid things that result in bad decisions, but it’s important to take responsibility for those actions and make amends for the wrong you’ve done or the harm you caused. And I don’t know why his words resonated with me, but I knew immediately that I will take whatever punishment Lucy wants to give me.”
I silently thank whoever took the time to talk to Rhys on the plane instead of writing him off as a drunken disturbance. “Whatever she decides, you know I’ll be there for you. I’m going to be there for you both if she’ll still have me.”
Rhys scrutinizes every inch of my face with a neutral stare. “If she won't, maybe those are the consequences ofyouractions. What willyoudo to make amends?”
Thirty-Five
A knockon my childhood bedroom door interrupts my job search. “Come in.”
Dad’s face appears in the crack, his warm, golden-brown eyes still unable to look directly at me. “There’s someone here to see you.” His tone is stern, and I can see his knuckles turning white as they grip the door.
“Someone’s here to see me?” I’m not expecting anyone. Unless… I scramble up and peer out the window. My heart skips a beat when I see Lawson’s car in the driveway.
It hasn’t even been two days, but it feels like it’s been years since he walked out of my apartment on Friday and ended our relationship.
He never ended anything. You assumed he did.
“I’m inclined not to let him in,” Dad says. “Your mother is still gone, and out of the two of us, she’d fare better in jail than I would.”
I laugh as I shove my feet into my house slippers. “You’re probably right. Mom would make everyone her bitch. You’d just be someone’s bitch.”
Finally, my dad looks me in the eye for the first time since he found out about Lawson and me. “I’m too pretty to go to jail, Luce. Make it quick.”
At least he’s joking with me again.
Lawson is standing just inside the door when I get downstairs, a familiar, gleaming cellophane bundle in one hand, and a bouquet of brilliant blue roses in the other.
“Hi.” His eyes are bright and hopeful but filled with caution as they glance at my dad to make sure he’s not going to sucker punch him when he least expects it.
“Hi.” I return his simple greeting. He’s got a lot of explaining to do.
Lawson licks his lips and chuckles, knowing I won’t make this easy. He holds out the flowers and cookies. “I come bearing gifts.”
Grabbing the flowers, I bring them to my nose, inhaling their fragrant notes. “Blue?”
Smiling softly, Lawson nods. “I told the lady at the flower shop that I needed something that celebrated attaining an impossible dream.” His voice drops lower, unguarded, raw emotion filtering through. “One I want so badly to come true.”
Affection warms my insides, my cheeks heating as he hands me the cookies.
I take the package and retreat a few steps, staring at him expectantly as I open it and pop one in my mouth. The silence weighs heavily between us—and my dad, who hasn’t left.
“I miss you.” Lawson steps toward me.
But when Dad clears his throat, Lawson stops and takes a deep breath. “Will, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here totell your daughter that I love her, and I’m sorry. You can either stay and witness the exchange, which will probably be extremely uncomfortable for you, because after I’m finished talking, I will pretend like you’re not here. Or, you can give us a little privacy. Either way, I will speak to Lucy, and when Bree gets back, I’d like to speak to you both as well.”
Thankfully, Dad retreats into the kitchen after taking my flowers, mumbling about putting them in water.
