Page 52 of Attached At Heart
I could tell he wasn’t entirely impressed by that, but he wasn’t outright offended. I’d take it.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Blake said, gripping my dad’s hand so hard my dad actually winced.
“Same, same,” my dad replied, shaking off the greeting as though it had already bored him.
Then again, we weren’t important people who he could impress and build connections with, which I was sure was the reason he was here tonight. I honestly couldn’t believe that it never occurred to me that I might see him this evening.
“Dad, Blake is, um—” I cleared my throat and then shifted on my feet, not sure if I’d be able to spit out the next part of this sentence. Blake gave me an encouraging squeeze. “Well, I know you’ve heard me talk about him before,” I said, deciding to ease into the reveal. “We went to med school together, remember? And we both did our cardiology fellowship at Mayo.”
“Oh yes, yes.”
My dad’s attention had drifted, his gaze surfing the crowd for other people to talk to.
“Well, we actually e?—”
“Oh, can you excuse me, honey?” my dad interrupted, pulling away from us before I even had a chance to respond. “I see someone who I’ve been trying to get in touch with forweeks. I’ll be right back. Come find you in a few.”
And just like that, he was gone.
I should have been upset, but relief swamped me instead.
My shoulders slumped as I dropped my weight against Blake. He seemed to be ready for it, holding me steady, unwavering in his support.
“Well, that was…” he started before realizing he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. Or maybe he just didn’t know how to finish that sentence without upsetting me.
But whatever he had to say wouldn’t bother me. I was well aware of my family’s reality.
It was, of course, the reason I didn’t really want one. A family, that is. Because how could I be a good wife or parent when I’d only had emotionally stunted examples? I would hate to do toanyonewhat my family had done to me.
“That was my dad,” I said with a sigh. “That’s just how he is.”
Blake echoed my sigh. His body swayed slightly like he was rocking me.
“Want me to get him to come back over here so you can finish telling him about us?”
“Nah.” It might be enjoyable to watch Blake try, but it wasn’t worth it. “This is probably for the best. At least for now.”
I could put off our marriage announcement until after the honeymoon. That way, I might have more proof that this was real and not just something my best friend and I had cooked up.
Blake remained quiet for a moment before murmuring, “If you want to go home, I’ll take you home.”
Did I want to stay here while my dad ignored me and made stuffy conversation with hospital benefactors? Absolutely not.
But Ishouldstay.
I hadn’t made it this far just to let my dad dictate what I was going to do. I didn’t let him get in my way back when I first applied to med school, so I wasn’t going to let him now.
“I don’t want to go home. Not yet.”
I felt Blake nod. “Then let’s get you some food.”
This time, we made it across the room without any interruptions.
But for some reason, that made me a little disappointed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
delaney
