Page 26 of Tell Me All Your Lies

“Is everything good with you?”

“It is. Catherine is doing great. It’s just Cara I worry about.”

I snort in disbelief.

“You’ve raised a good one. Whatever she’s up to, she’ll be just fine.”

He hums, but I see him wrestling inside.

“Her work is her life. It’s a mystery, almost like yours,” he says.

Luke takes another sip of his cocktail and places it back down on the table.

“But I worry about everything else she’s sacrificing to chase this dream of hers. I’m not even sure if it’s a dream or a nightmare she’s trying to solve. She only shares so much, but I see the heaviness she carries.”

Interesting.

“What is she sacrificing?”

“A family of her own.”

“You want her to settle down?”

“If it’s what she wants.”

Another long sigh spills from Luke.

“The problem is that she’s never brought anyone home to her mother and me because of this job, so I have no idea if she even wants a family. I don’t even know if she knows herself.”

I take a sip of my martini and wait for my friend to continue to vent. He scrubs a hand down his face.

“I’m proud of her. We both are. Even with how cryptic it all is.”

“Good, as you should be.”

“I just hope she knows what she’s doing. Work can’t be her entire life forever. Hell, you, of all people, have to understand where I’m coming from with that.”

“You’re right. I do.”

Luke’s expression twists into one of remorse.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, you’re right. I was Cara in my thirties and now my forties too. I’ve never settled down. Always chasing the next big adventure.”

“I just want her to be happy, and I wonder if she is.”

I wonder that, too, but I won’t admit that to him.

“Who do you think would be right for Cara as a partner?”

Luke studies me for a moment, and his mouth twists as he debates his answer. For someone who wants his daughter to be settled down, clearly, he doesn’t have anyone in mind.

“Well, I think what I do know is that the person has to be career-driven.”

“That makes sense.”

“Someone who won’t let her walk all over them.”

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