Page 89 of Paging Dr. Summers

After the big reveal that I was her sister, she’d cared less about what her father—our father—thought about the situation. But she still cared about Maxwell. That I knew. This situation was breaking her heart. Maybe if I talked to the jerk, it would give Lola some comfort. I really was nailing my new big sister role.

“Sure,” I agreed. “We were just headed to Moon Café.”

“Perfect.” Maxwell clasped his hands together and turned on his heel.

Perfectwas the last word I would use to describe the situation.

“Are you sure about this?” Logan whispered in my ear.

“Nope.” I let out a shaky laugh.

Logan kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand, swinging it between us. Meanwhile, I rehearsed arguments and dramatic exits in my head, like dumping Moon Café’s famous apple rose puff pastry on Maxwell’s head and saying, “That’s for my mom.” But I knew that wouldn’t happen. No way was I wasting that yummy dessert.

And as fun as it sounded, I didn’t want to make a scene. Honestly, it surprised me that Maxwell wanted to be seen in public with me. Everyone was going to know that he had a “love child.”

In my case, I was more of a lust child. Certainly from Maxwell’sperspective. My mother had loved him, and she definitely loved me. She’d given me everything, including Logan and my sister.

Once we took our seats at a table tucked into the corner of the cute café, it turned into the most awkward situation imaginable. We sat across from Maxwell, refusing to make eye contact as we all made useless comments about the weather while we waited for our food. Sadly, I didn’t get everything on the menu—just a Cobb salad I would probably eat only a few bites of.

If that weren’t uncomfortable enough, an older well-dressed man approached the table. “Maxwell, it’s good to see you.”

Maxwell stood, held out his hand, and shook it, playing his part well. After all, the Harringtons were iconic in this town. “It’s good to see you, Alan. How are you?”

Alan smiled and said, “Well,” before he glanced my way.

Oh, yeah, he totally knew who I was.

Not missing a beat, Maxwell waved his hand in my direction. “I’d like you to meet my daughter, Brooke Crawford, and her boyfriend, Logan Summers. You might have heard he’s the newest ER doctor at the hospital.”

I might have had a ministroke, as everything inside me went numb and all I could hear was this loud buzzing in my head. The only thing grounding me was Logan’s warm hand on my thigh. Had Maxwell just called me his daughter? In public? Why would he do that?

Technically speaking, it was true, but emotionally, it felt like it lacked some gravitas. But what was I supposed to say to this stranger? That he was mistaken? Especially when Alan was smiling widely at me and saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Then he slapped Maxwell on the shoulder and said, “You’re a lucky man. Two beautiful daughters.”

Maxwell cleared his throat, the implications of his announcement surely settling over him. “Yes, I’m blessed.”

“Let’s do lunch next week.” Alan gave him another pat. “I have some property I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Call my assistant, and he’ll get you on my calendar,” Maxwell responded.

“Will do.” Alan snuck in another glance at me before making his goodbyes and jetting off.

Maxwell eased back into his seat, his gaze landing directly on me, his eyes pleading with me—for what, I didn’t know. “I apologize for that, but I want you to know that I’m not ashamed of you, only of my actions.”

“You’ve never treated me like a daughter.” My voice was low, but steady. I refused to make a scene.

“I know. And I know there is no making up for that. I’ve carried that shame with me for over thirty years.”

“Why the guilt when you didn’t believe my mother? I read the letters.” There was no keeping the bite out of my tone. Not after what he’d done to my mom.

Maxwell raised his pressed hands toward his lips, resting his elbows on the table. His knuckles whitened.

“Brooke,” he said, solemnly. “I realize nothing I say will ever make up for what I have done. There is no excuse. Especially because in my heart, I always knew your mother was telling the truth.”

I placed my hand on Logan’s, intertwining my fingers with his, needing to feel connected as I took in Maxwell’s words. It felt like someone had punctured my heart.

“You knew, but you never cared to find out about me or see how I was doing? What about my mom? Do you know what that did to her? You hurt her so much, she would hardly speak of you.” My voice remained measured, but it conveyed my pain. It would be a lie to deny he had hurt me.

Maxwell turned a shade paler, all the blood draining from his stately, handsome face. “I thought about you and your mother all the time, but a lie always begs for bigger lies. And if you tell them to yourself long enough, you start to believe them, at least for a little while. Long enough to move on with your life. Then I met Camila, and I couldn’t tell her what I’d done. I knew she would hate me for it. So, I just swore I would be a better man for her and then for Lola.” His voice gave way to emotion, but like me, he remained committed to keeping it reined in.

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