Page 90 of The Mistakes I've Made
A man even I recognized.
“Daddy,” she breathed out, her voice shaky and weak as I met the eyes of Stephen Hart.
But it wasn’t him she was staring at. It was the woman on his arm. Her gaze seemed to ping-pong between them, as if trying to make sense of the two of them together.
Did she know the woman?
Or was it just the fact that he was with a woman at all?
“Are you here to see me? How did you know I’d be here?” he asked, patting the woman’s arm as they stepped out. He took a step forward without her and approached his daughter.
“What? No,” she said. “I’m here, doing research for my own design project. I didn’t even know you were here.”
His eyes briefly darted to mine. “Research? I see.”
“Well, you told me to make nice with the locals,” she answered snidely before throwing her attention back toward the woman next to her father. “Why is Becky here?”
So, she did know her.
Her father let out a sigh. “She’s here with me.”
A mixture of betrayal and disbelief was written all over her face. “For business?”
“No, Leilani. Rebecca is my fiancée. We’re getting married. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but—”
“But what? You didn’t have the time? You forgot? What excuse is it going to be today, Daddy?”
“I didn’t know how,” he said.
His fiancée stepped forward to reach for his hand. Lani noticed, of course, and turned her head away.
“Well, now, I know. I’m sure you’ll have your assistant update me on the details of the rest of your life as they happen. Now, if you’ll excuse us,” she said, reaching for me. She didn’t have to go far; I was right there. “We were about to retire for the evening.”
“Leilani,” he said, his voice firm and fatherly, “aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
She swallowed hard, blinking several times as she forced a smile. “You know, Daddy, I want to, but I just don’t know how.”
If Lani was going for brutal, I’d think she’d won because the devastated look on her father’s face as we walked away almost made me feel bad for him.
Almost.
That was, until I saw Lani.
And then I wanted turn right around, run after the bastard and kill him.
“Babe,” I said softly as she crumbled in my arms, sobs echoing through the small space as I shielded her body and tried to alleviate her pain.
By the time we reached our floor, tears had drenched her face, her breath so rushed and hurried that she was nearly hyperventilating. Bending down, I did the only thing I could think of. I picked her up and carried her to our room, letting her rest her head against my shoulder but wishing I could do so much more.
For her, I’d take it all.
All the pain, all the suffering.
Everything.
I made quick work of getting into our suite and headed straight for the bedroom. As gently as possible, I set her down on the bed, the covers already tossed back from our lovemaking earlier. Knowing I couldn’t leave her, I kicked off my shoes and slid next to her, wiping her tears as they fell from her eyes.
“Shh,” I whispered.
