Page 178 of Desperate Pucker
“Yeah. I am.”
“He treats you well?”
I nod. “The best.”
A small smile pulls at his lips. He gives my arm a soft squeeze. “Good.” He sighs. “I’ll handle this mess with that podcaster.”
“Thank you.”
I turn to walk off.
“I love you, Madeline.”
I stop and turn around. “I love you too.”
I take in the brightness in my dad’s gaze, how surprised and happy he is to hear me say that.
I can’t remember the last time I said that to him. I always hated saying it because it never felt sincere—it felt like something I had to say.
But I don’t feel that way anymore.
Even though he’s apologized for how he treated me, I don’t think we’ll ever have a normal father-daughter relationship. I’ll always be angry with him for how he treated my mom whenshe was pregnant with me, and how he wasn’t there when I was born. That’s unforgivable.
But we’re both ready to move on and create something better than what we’ve had. And that’s enough for me to want to give him another chance to be in my life in a meaningful way.
When I walk through the open doorway of his office and turn to leave, I spot Ryker standing off to the side, staring at me with a dazed look on his face.
“Hey.”
He blinks at me and swallows hard. “Hey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to your dad about the podcast that Bobby Baker just aired.”
“Oh…” I focus on his furrowed brow. He looks confused. And a little freaked out.
“How long were you standing out here?” I ask.
He clears his throat. “A while.”
My stomach sinks. “How much did you hear?”
“Everything.”
That means he heard me say that I love him.
Nerves fire off inside of me. Oh no. That’s why he looks so freaked out right now. It’s way too soon for me to tell him that I love him.
“I know what you must be thinking?—”
He grabs me by the waist and cuts me off with a kiss.
And then he says, “I love you too.”
Chapter 62
Maddy
