Page 88 of Memories of Santorini

He was one of the best gifts she’d ever had.

* * *

It wasa sunny day in San Francisco, but Carter rubbed his hands up and down Sienna’s arms as if it was cold and foggy.

“I’ll wait for you in the café over there.” He pointed across Market Street. “Call me if you need me. And I’ll be there in a second.”

Then he held her face in his big, comforting hands and kissed her until she knew she’d have to stop in the restroom to fix her lipstick. She smiled and wiped the smudges off his mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Though she’d called earlier to make an appointment, her father made her wait ten minutes, because that’s just what her father did. She texted Carter to let him know.

Then Heather, her father’s admin, showed her in.

Naturally, Dad didn’t get up from his desk. He only did that for important clients. “Sienna, it’s so good to see you.” He flicked his gaze over her frame. “You look terribly tanned. That Santorini sun is too hot for human habitation.”

She didn’t want to fight, but she didn’t want a lot of chitchat either. She didn’t engage, saying, “It was a good trip. While I was away, Mom told me.” The name slipped out. Not Mother, not Angela, but Mom. What she’d said wasn’t the full truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. Mom had told her the whole story, even if Tamryn was the one who’d opened Sienna’s eyes.

“Told you what?” he asked, his mouth agape as if he was mystified. Yet his eyes gleamed with an image of the confrontation, and it made him giddy. Now he wanted her to fill in all the dirty details.

“She told me you’re not my natural father.” As she said the words, she found them almost soothing. She didn’t want to think about why right now.

He smiled, still with that satisfied gleam. “I’m glad she finally decided to tell you. I’ve wanted her to for years. You deserved to know, but your mother fought me every step of the way. She was afraid you’d hate her.” He raised one eyebrow. “But I truly hope you don’t.” The eyebrow was his tell. He wanted her to despise her mother.

“It was a shock,” she admitted, then probed him on his latest lie. “But I got the impression you enjoyed holding it over her head.”

He laughed. It didn’t sound natural, as if laughter was a tool rather than an emotion. “Of course she would say that.” His tone was soothing, almost melodic. “She always liked to paint me as the bad guy.”

She wondered if he actually was.

“But I didn’t know the truth when I married her,” he had to add, his voice deepening with affront.

“Would you have married her anyway? If you’d known, I mean.” What Sienna really wanted to ask was whether he’d loved her despite the lack of DNA connecting them, but she was afraid she already knew.

“It would’ve been disingenuous if I knew and married her anyway, don’t you think?” He smiled as if she were a foreigner who didn’t grasp the nuances of a second language.

He didn’t say that she was important to him, that it didn’t make any difference, that she was still his daughter. But this was the man whom she’d thought of as her father all her life, and he’d never been one to reassure her. He’d saved that for Matthew, his real firstborn, his son.

“Well,” he said, still smiling, “that settles the wedding then.”

It wasn’t a question, but she had to ask, “What do you mean?”

That smile. She’d never seen how cutting it was. His laughter had an agenda, his smiles had hidden meanings. And he was moving in for the kill.

“It’s obvious you need to back out of the wedding. After all, you’re not actually related.”

She sat before him, utterly stunned. His words were like a knife she hadn’t seen coming until it slid right between her ribs. Then he turned it, slicing all the way to her heart. “You’re not the baby’s half sister. You’re not even a stepsister.” He raised a brow as if suddenly seeing the truth. “You’re not really family at all.”

She couldn’t take another second. Standing, she said, “Thanks for letting me see you.”

She had seen everything about him that she needed to.

* * *

Carter was already leavingthe coffee shop as she exited her father’s headquarters. After waiting for a break in traffic, he jaywalked to her.

“Are you okay?”

She was too stunned for words. Or maybe there were just too many words fighting inside her head.

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