Page 47 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“You are my daughter, Guillermina. My only child and everything I have left. And I only want what’s best for you. Someone hardworking, with a degree from a fine institution, with a real job. Someone from a good family, and William …” He paused, but his eyes weren’t showing a speck of compassion. “He couldn’t even graduate with an associate degree in culinary arts, for Christ’s sake. He’s Hollywood’s hottest commodity right now, but someone better, more attractive, more …everythingwill show up and displace him eventually. They always do, in that business. And then what? Soon he’ll be out of a job, and what will he do with his life? He’ll become a shadow of his success, and I don’t think that’s the type of person I want you to end up with.”
I wasn’t even shocked to find out my father knew about William’s unfinished studies. It was obvious that he would do a deeper dive into his life when I started dating him. But he was judging him too harshly. He didn’t know him at all. And his comments were pretentious, elitist, and disrespectful. William was much more than “just an actor,” and his family was warmer and more united than ours ever was.
“William’s father is still an actor and landing important roles, so I don’t think you have to be worried about William being out of a job anytime soon.” I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. William had real estate investments and was probably involved in other endeavors I wasn’t aware of. Yes, he was an actor, but he was smart and cunning and ambitious in the best way possible. And trying to convince my father about how great William was, how he was more than “just an actor,” was nothing but a waste of time and energy. He’d made up his mind about him and was fixated on the idea of me dating someone like Nathan.
My father parted his lips to reply but was cut off by a gentle knock on my door. I knew it was William, and he was probably still with Naomi, or he would’ve come in through the secret door.
“That must be William.” I jumped to my feet and crossed my arms at my chest. “I think it’s best if you leave.”
My dad stood and dusted off the lapels of his jacket, his gaze piercing into mine. One could tell he wasn’t thrilled about not getting his way. But there was nothing he could do at this point. I had a job that would provide me with enough money to survive. I had a place to live. And my tuition at Parsons was covered. He couldn’t control me anymore.
The idealistic part of me wanted things to be okay between us, but I knew that wouldn’t happen anytime soon, and I’d made my peace with it. I’d rather start living my life my way (as terrifying as it seemed) than fall back to the “comfort” of being told what to do in exchange for economic stability. Fuck that.
I followed my dad out, and William and Naomi fell silent when he opened the door to leave.
“Mr. Murphy,” William said with a curt nod, offering his hand to him. My dad shook it with a stiff mouth. “This is Naomi Lieberman. My new publicist. Naomi, this is Guille’s dad.”
My dad regarded her in silence for a few heartbeats and finally smiled and offered his hand to her. “Nice to meet you, Naomi.” She looked tiny next to William. She was a petite thing but fierce, nonetheless. I’d learned that from our earlier exchange.
“Likewise, Mr. Murphy.” She smiled at him with narrowed eyes. Maybe William had briefed her regarding my father’s ways. Or maybe she was good at reading people. Either way, her look made it seem like she was curious about him, but not in a good way.
“I expect you to take good care of my daughter,” my dad told her. “You seem young, and I doubt you have the necessary experience to deal with the media and …”
“Dad,” I cut him off mid-sentence. “Naomi knows what she’s doing.” I didn’t know her or anything about her experience, but if William trusted her enough to hire her, that was enough. Besides, this wasn’t about me. Her job was to manage William’s image, not mine. My father was out of line for many reasons.
“Sure she does.” My dad offered Naomi one of his diplomatic smiles, the kind that wrinkled his nose and eyes, but I knew it was fake. “My apologies.” He then directed his attention back to William. “She’s too good for you. But you’ll soon realize that.” He pointed at me when he said that, and I shut my eyes and took a deep breath that did nothing to soothe the indignation.
William refrained from replying, and I loved him even more for that. There was no use in arguing with my dad. Not when he was behaving this way.
He needed to leave. And I was about to ask him to do so for the second time when he leaned in to kiss my cheek and walked away.
“Mr. Murphy?” William said as my dad waited for the elevator. He looked over his shoulder at him. “I’m having the surveillance cameras uninstalled tomorrow morning and will hand them over to Aaron so he can return them to you.”
“Removing them is up to you.” The elevator chimed, and the doors opened in front of my father. He stepped inside and turned around to face us. “But you don’t want to know what happens if my daughter gets hurt.”
The doors shut with a thud, and William pulled me in for a protective hug.
“Your dad seems nice,” Naomi said, and the three of us started laughing. “I can’t decide who I like the best between him and your bodyguard.”
“Was Aaron rude to you?” William asked.
Naomi raised an eyebrow and readjusted her purse’s strap onher shoulder as she hugged her laptop against her chest. “We can assume he hates me.”
“He does not,” I said with a laugh. “I promise. He was cranky today because the coffee hadn’t yet loosened his mood.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” She waved a carefree hand in front of her, raising a shoulder in a playful way. “I hate him too.”
William and Istepped out of the elevator onto the 14th floor to his parents’ apartment. Well, it was Nathalie’s apartment now, but since the divorce, she’d spent most of her time in Stockholm. William said she’d be moving back permanently after the holidays since Eric was having a hard time dealing with the divorce and the news of Zara being their half-sister. He loved Zara, but Eric was still very young, and even if his brothers provided a solid support system, he needed his mom to navigate this challenging time. And Sivert, their father, was now based in L.A., so he wasn’t around much.
William knocked on the door with his foot because our hands were busy. I was holding the strawberry shortcake, and William brought a six-pack and two bottles of red wine. He wanted to cook for everyone, but his mom refused and said she would order something instead. She said she didn’t want him spending the entire day in the kitchen when she knew he was busy.
“Hey!” Lily opened the door with a big smile and grabbed the bottles of wine to help William. “Come in! Come in!” We kissed Lily and stepped inside. The penthouse was impressive and tastefully decorated, as expected. The floor-to-ceiling windowsoffered a stunning view of the city’s skyline. Almost everyone was there except for Tobias and Zara, who had yet to arrive. Joel and Eric greeted us next.
I was anxious about seeing Zara. We’d bumped into her a few times, but I hadn’t spent time with her since William and I started dating. William had talked to her, and she said she was happy for him, but he could tell she wasn’t thrilled. But I didn’t blame her after how things had gone down with Nathan.
Although I wished family gatherings were comfortable for everyone, I couldn’t help but feel responsible for Zara’s reluctance to spend more time with us. She probably needed some time to be okay with us dating, and I would have to be patient in the process.
Nathalie approached us when we placed the stuff we’d brought on the dining table and hugged William first. “Grattis på födelsedagen,Mamma,” he congratulated her, pressing a kiss on her cheek. She smiled sweetly at him and kissed him back.
