Page 86 of Loved Out Loud
“I went to see my father today.”
He goes completely still. “I see.” With a sigh he tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I assume it didn’t go well?”
I chuckle bitterly. “That would be putting it mildly.”
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“I saw my sister.” I look up into his eyes. “She was beautiful and seemed kind. Looked a lot like his wife.”
“Did you meet her, too?”
“No. Not really.” I roll onto my back, looking up at the ceiling. “She came out and knew who I was as soon as she saw me. Called me by name, but he told her to go back in the house.”
“He didn’t even invite you inside the door?” Stone’s voice is incredulous.
“Nope. They were sitting down to eat dinner, which I figured they would be.”
“Best time to pin him down.”
“Yeah.”
“What were you going to do if he wasn’t there?”
“I honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“I would have gone with you.”
“I know you would have. But I feel like it had to just be me. Like I needed to see for myself how he would respond if I was alone. He may have recognized you if you had come.”
“Yeah, but I could have stayed in the car.”
“Dan was in the car.”
He drags in a breath. “That’s good.”
“What was that?”
“What do you mean?”
“The deep inhale through your teeth.”
“I was drawing oxygen into my lungs. Some would call it breathing.”
“No, there was more to it than that.” I sit up. “Spill.”
“I’m jealous,” he mumbles.
“What?” I kick off the covers and climb on top of him.
“I said I’m jealous.”
“Of who?” I blink down at him, entirely confused.
“Dan.”
“Because he watched me fight back tears for forty minutes on the ride back? That he got to see me utterly humiliated and rejected by my own father?”
“That you trusted him enough to go with you but not me.”
