Page 49 of Off-Limits Silver Fox Billionaire

The rest of that evening, I tried to get Bree’s confession off my mind.

Her eyes sparkled when she said she loved me, and the words softened my heart. In an ideal world, I could be in love with Bree. I could let go of all my worries and let myself stay happy with her, but Bree was young.

She had her entire life ahead of her, and if it didn’t work out between us, then I knew it would crush her too. It was what I feared the most. I feared committing to her and ruining it just like I ruined my marriage to Jenny.

I hated reminiscing because whenever I let my mind go down memory lane, the ache in my heart never stopped.

Jenny had hated being with me so much that the prospect of running off with a younger man who had all the time to explore life with her seemed right at the time.

I rubbed my eyes and lay back on my bed hoping my mind would shut off, but I didn’t. I spent the entire night thinking about my past and about Bree. I did the right thing by telling her my feelings. Bree deserved someone younger, someone who could explore life with her. She deserved the best.

I did the right thing.So why did it hurt so much?

* * *

Iris knocked softlyand came into my room the next morning. “Coffee?” she asked but went ahead to hand me a mug before I could respond. “Black, just how you like it.”

“Thanks, Iris,” I said to her, then sat up in bed and sipped from the mug. It took some minutes before the caffeine boost kicked in.

“I spoke to mom yesterday,” Iris said after we stayed silent for a while. “She’s lucid for the first time in a while, and I was thinking…Well, I don’t know. I wish you could at least come to see her. She’s not lucid all the time and we never know when it’ll pass.”

I set my mug down on the bedside drawer, then took Iris’s mug from her, and set it beside mine.

“I don’t think seeing your mother is a great idea, sweetheart. Your mother and I, we don’t do well together.”

“She regrets leaving, dad,” Iris countered in a shaky voice, and I saw the tears pooling in her eyes when I looked at her. “She always regretted it, but she could never show up because she was too scared. She lived that way for years dad, and I don’t know I just wish I can do something nice for her before she dies you know.”

“What do you mean before she dies?”

Iris wiped her cheeks then and she lowered her gaze from mine. She didn’t say anything, but her back had stiffened and judging from the paleness on her cheeks, I could tell something was terribly wrong.

“Iris,” I called again and touched her hand so she could look at me. “Tell me what’s wrong with your mother besides Alzheimer's.”

Iris hugged me without saying anything, and she pressed her face into the croon of my neck. “See her dad,” she answered instead. “It would make her happy and it would make me happy too.”

She pulled back after that and smiled. “I’ll make you breakfast. Today, you’ve got to come with me to try out new suits for the wedding.”

“Do I have to?”

“No complaining dad, it’s compulsory because you’re the father of the bride,” she answered in a singing voice as she walked out of my bedroom and closed the door behind her.

That evening, we checked a few stores for suits, and I tried on a few well-tailored ones before Iris made her choice. We took a stroll down the block and stopped at Iris’s favorite place for some ice cream. Once we headed out of the ice cream parlor, we ran into Bree and her brother.

“Hi,” Bree greeted immediately when she saw Iris. Seeing her, filled me with a piercing hurt, and she didn’t meet my gaze even though I stared hard at her and wished she would just look at me.

“Hi,” Iris answered but her voice lacked the enthusiasm Bree’s had. Both girls stared at each other for a bit, and I noticed Bree’s cheeks had reddened and her hand shook even as she held her brother.

“You two should talk,” I said to Iris and gave her a stern look when she was about to object. I walked away from them to wait in the car, and my eyes stayed on Bree even as they both stood there without speaking.

Bree asked Samuel to go into the parlor first and I threw my gaze away from them because staring wouldn’t change a thing about what I did yesterday. Bree couldn’t look me in the eye because she was probably hurting, and I wished I could make it better.

I’m a jerk,I thought and sighed.What am I even doing?

Sitting in my car alone made my thoughts spiral. I finally concluded that the only way I could get my heart settled was to seek closure. Iris was probably right. I could visit Jenny and chat with her like old times. I had missed doing that a lot in the past, but since Iris came along, I barely ever thought about my life with Jenny.

I didn’t realize Iris and Bree had gone into the ice cream parlor until I looked up again. A slow smile budded on the corners of my lips and I let it stay because I was glad both girls were speaking.

Coming between them was the last thing I wanted, and Iris had to forgive Bree just like she had forgiven me.

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