Page 64 of Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines (Rock Canyon, Idaho 3)

“I know; that’s what’s so funny,” she said.

“Young lady—”

“I am twenty-six years old. I have been married and divorced. I own my house, my car, and make my own living. You . . . don’t . . . control . . . anything. You . . . forbid . . . nothing.” She’d said the last two sentences slowly, so he would fully get her meaning. “I decide who I will spend my life with. Not you.”

“You would have nothing without my money. I paid for the best school, your college—”

“And I’m not using the fancy degree you bought me. The trust fund I received on my twenty-fifth birthday was money I earned doing anything you asked of me, even marrying the man you wanted. Three years of my life were wasted for you, so in my opinion, I earned every penny trying to make you happy. But that’s the thing with you: you’re never happy. You’re never satisfied, and I won’t try anymore.”

“What about Ellie? I warned you what would happen and I meant every word.”

It killed Val to say it, but she took a breath and went for it. “I actually think that would be the best thing for her. I love her, but she’s spoiled and reckless. You complain about all of the scandals Caroline and I caused, but I’m warning you, Ellie is headed down a dangerous path. Still, she needs a parent, not a dictator.”

“You can’t even have children! Who are you to give me parenting advice?”

Val slapped him so hard her arm shook and her palm stung. Her vision blurred with tears she couldn’t let fall. She hadn’t told him, so the truth had to have come from Cole. Her father had known about her infertility for years and was now trying to use it against her.

Her greatest pain, and he’d using it to shame her. In that moment, Val hated him.

“Fuck you.”

Her father rubbed his cheek, glaring at her with distaste. “How I ever got stuck with such spoiled, selfish—”

Val hadn’t even heard the door open, but she knew the minute Justin entered the room because her father stopped talking, his expression suddenly murderous. “What the hell are you doing here?”

She tried to wipe at her eyes, but he caught her chin. Justin’s eyes burned like the sun as he cradled her face, and she swallowed hard. “I told you to wait.”

“Fuck that. I wasn’t going to sit next door, listening to this self-righteous prick talk to you like that.”

“You little slut,” her father hissed.

Val felt Justin move but held on, pleading, “Stop.”

Every muscle in his body was taut, and she prayed he’d listen. The last thing she wanted was to have them start brawling in a hotel room, especially since Justin would have no problem kicking her father’s arrogant ass. But despite everything he had said and done, she didn’t want him hurt. She just wanted him gone.

Facing her father, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “You need to leave.”

“You’re going to turn your back on me? Do you know that this idiot’s father stole forty thousand dollars from me? He’s not just a drunk, Valerie, but a thief.”

“That’s bullshit,” Justin snapped, and Val suddenly knew that if he really wanted to get to her father, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Dropping her hand from his arm, she stepped up to Edward.

“If you don’t want to get into a fight with a man thirty years younger and end up getting arrested, I suggest you leave.”

“I’m trying to protect you, Valerie,” Edward said, his concerned-father expression in place. It was the one he used during interviews and at functions. But it wasn’t fooling her.

“You tried to set me up with a rapist,” Val said coldly. “Forgive me if I find your worry less than sincere.”

>

“Fine, you don’t trust me. Just don’t come crying to me when you realize I was right.”

As Edward Willis turned his back on her and strode out the door, she felt sick. He hadn’t been much, but he was her only parent. She had put up with a lot from him, forgiven him more often than she probably should have, but he was still her dad. It was painful that he’d never been able to put her happiness before his own.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Val wrapped her arms around her stomach. She never cried, not really. She teared up, she became upset, but she never sobbed and wailed. She never let go.

Because once she did, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop.

She was pulled back against a hard chest and trapped within the strength of Justin’s arms as he whispered, “You’re okay.”

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