Page 151 of Just One Kiss

“But when she told me she was pregnant, I was shocked.” Gus ran a hand over his chin. “Did not see that coming.”

“Yeah, you and me both.”

He fidgeted with a pen, eyes on his desk. “I thought I’d failed. I must’ve done something wrong as a father. The girls needed a mother, and I was lousy at that.”

Josh decided not to disagree. Not because he didn’t disagree, but because it sounded like Gus had things to get off his chest. Did he tell the old man that his daughter felt like a failure too? That they had that in common?

“And when you left—I guess I took all that anger I felt toward myself and directed it at you.” Gus sighed. “I understand now why you did what you did, and I have to tell you, there was something honorable in your choice.”

“We really don’t need to talk about it, Gus—”

“I need to talk about it,” Gus said firmly.

Josh watched the older man gather his thoughts. “Okay, if we’re really doing this—You said I was a coward.”

“I said that without all the facts, son,” Gus said. “And I was wrong. I’m pretty sure you’re the opposite of a coward.”

Josh hung on the end of those words for longer than he should’ve. He drew in a long breath. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Oh?”

“It’s ancient history. Can’t rewrite the past.”

Gus frowned. “No, but you don’t have to let the past write your future.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie.” Josh felt a grin prickling the corner of his mouth.

Gus didn’t look amused. “Look, I misjudged you. I made a mistake. You had a hard life, much harder than any of us knew. Carly tried to tell me, but I’d had your dad in my ear every week. And by then, I’d seen some of the choices you were making. Not exactly a stellar record.”

Josh didn’t want to talk about this—not with Gus. Not with anybody. He wanted his dad to stay behind bars and he wanted to move on, hopefully with Carly and Jaden. The rest of it he wanted to bury.

But when he looked at Gus, he knew that this man’s opinion of him mattered too. More than he cared to admit.

“I’m sorry I didn’t help you back then, son,” Gus said.

Josh shook his head. He hadn’t come here for Gus’s apologies. He wasn’t prepared for it.

“I understand now that you left because you thought you were protecting them,” Gus said. “You gave them up because you really believed it’s what was best.”

“All I’ve ever wanted is for Carly to be safe. For Jaden to be safe,” Josh said. “Even if it meant I didn’t get to be with them.”

Gus nodded. “That’s a very unselfish thing you did.”

A lump formed at the back of Josh’s throat and he willed it away. The last thing he needed was to fall apart in front of Carly’s dad. “Carly is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

“If you really believe that, you’ll do everything you can not to let her go this time.”

“Does that mean—” He looked up hopefully.

Gus picked up a pencil and tapped it on the desk. “I really don’t like being wrong.”

Josh didn’t move.

“But when you’re wrong, you say you were wrong,” Gus said. “And then you move on.”

The words lit up the air, pulsing overhead like a neon sign.

“You got a bum deal having Jim for a father.” Gus leaned across the desk, hands folded in front of him. “But having a bad father doesn’t make you a bad father.”

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