Lia
At some point during the night, Max cleaned us up and moved me to the bed. I woke again sprawled over him on the soft mattress. Under my head was his tattoo of a crowned skull. A soft kiss to my hair told me he was awake, too.
“Does this have a meaning?” I whispered.
Max glanced down then pressed another kiss to my forehead. “King of nothing. That was who I was after ye left.”
My heart ached. I kissed the tattoo. “Then I guess you’re just the king now.”
He chuckled, and I loved the sound. On his chest, I grazed my fingertips over a robin.
“This one?”
Max gave a single headshake. “A story for another day. A wee bit more embarrassing.”
I continued my exploration. Further down his arm, I found numbers embedded within flowers. Familiar numbers. “This is Evie’s birthdate, that’s…”
“Worth inscribing in my skin. Even though I wasnae there, I needed to honour it.”
He extended an arm and collected something from the bedside table. My journal.
Max opened it and flipped to the scan pictures, stroking the edge with his thumb. Tiny, brand-new Evie curled up in black and white.
“I’m so sorry ye were sick and had to handle all of this alone. I missed everything, but from now on, I willnae miss a thing. I swear that to ye both.”
I stretched to kiss him, and he set the book aside and rolled closer, both of us naked and his instantly hard dick finding its place between my legs. He pushed inside me, and another round of lovemaking ensued. Silent, compelling, and deeply satisfying.
I wanted this, exactly this, for the rest of my life.
Which meant changing everything.
After, when Max had fallen asleep once more, I used the bathroom then padded to the living room to find my phone.
Onscreen, multiple new messages from Felix waited, but then further down was one from Linc. I hadn’t heard from him in a couple of days, though I’d asked after his boyfriend. I read it immediately.
Lincoln: Sorry no reply. Things got sticky, but Trent is much better now. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you.
Lia: I’m so sorry. What do you mean when you see me?
Lincoln: Your father knows I’m not there. He’s called me in.
Shit. Though I very possibly wouldn’t need Lincoln anymore, I didn’t want Dad to come down hard on him. The very essence of his job was the reliability and professionalism he’d trained in. Without a good reference, he’d struggle.
Lia: I’ll talk to my father.
Lincoln: Too late. I’m in the airport about to get on a plane. He’s already in the UK, but I’ll get to you before he does. See you soon.
Oh fuck, but things had gotten worse.
Panicked, I found the email Dad had sent. So upset had I been, I hadn’t finished reading it, but I did now. A second had been sent a few hours after, detailing his travel plans. The very last lines had me staring in confusion.
Dad: Things have become very difficult in the past week. I’m sorry about my last email, you’re a grown woman and those words were unwarranted. I miss you both. Too much. I worry about you both endlessly. Again, I swear I had nothing to do with keeping you from Max. Please ignore contact from Felix until I see you.
A band around my chest squeezed. Though my dad was a busy man, he’d been a loving and devoted father, too. Sometimes stern, sometimes abrupt, but unfailing in his love for me and his granddaughter. My hero growing up.
It had cut me up to think that he would do anything to hurt us so, in a heartbeat, I believed him.
The more I considered Dad’s actions, the more I knew he only wanted the best for us. I’d told him I wanted to go to university and that I didn’t feel confident in my parenting skills. What had he done that I hadn’t asked for? Yes, he managed me, but I hadn’t felt able to manage myself.
Now, I did, and he was saying all the things I wanted to hear.
With emotion pouring from me in waves, I found his phone number and called him.
My father answered almost right away. “It’s so good to hear from you.”
I choked back a sob. “I only just read your emails properly. Oh, Dad.”
“Delete them, please. I’m so sorry I sent them. The last job I was working on failed. I found it very challenging for a couple of days, and there are other things you don’t know…”
A failed job meant people had died. I clutched the phone tighter. “That must’ve been so hard.”
“Forget about me. It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does. I worry about you, too.”
Dad made a grumbling sound, and I pictured his so-familiar face. He was probably stroking his beard—his conversational habit.
“You’ve been on a roller coaster yourself, I believe,” he said.
“That’s an understatement.”
“Good or bad? Without hearing from you, I’ve had no idea how things are going.”
Before I could touch that question, I had my own. “First, I have to ask this and I’m sorry for it. Can you swear to me that you knew nothing about Aunt Marie? I mean her being a fake. I need to hear it from your own mouth.”
Dad didn’t hesitate. “I swear it. I’ll tell you more on that soon, but I can promise on my life, I knew absolutely nothing. I trusted as you did.”
“Thank you. I believe you.” I sucked in a breath and tried to hold myself together.
He uttered a wistful sigh. “You are so like your mother. I don’t talk about her enough, but she was always unfailingly honest. She taught me that, and I passed it to you. We never hid anything from one another. If either of us had doubts, we would ask and believe the answer. It was the cornerstone of our relationship. What’s more, you sound like her, too. That’s new. You’re no longer a child now. You’re a woman in your mother’s image.”
On the very few occasions he’d spoken about my mother, I’d clung to his words. Because we moved so much, I had very little of her personal belongings or trinkets. Only a few pieces of jewellery and photos of an elegant woman Dad put on a pedestal.
I’d always felt lacking. Far from her model of excellence.
A rush of happiness swept through me at his comparison. He couldn’t have known, as I hadn’t, but this meant the world.
In a heartbeat, my core belief in my father had been restored. I needed our old closeness back. That same upfront and entirely honest way of being.
Words flew from my lips in a torrent.
“To answer your ‘good or bad’ question, both. So much has happened. Today, I was in a near miss with a helicopter. When I arrived here, I found out from Max that I had slept with his brother. I’ve had to deal with the thought that this twin I had no clue about might be Evie’s father. But what does that matter? Every day has been a huge emotional wrench. I’m a mess.”
Commotion came from Dad’s end of the line, voices around him. The sound muffled, then he returned. “I’m here and I will help. In all things. I’ve neglected you, but no more. From now on, I’ll stay with you, with my family. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about—”
The voices grew in urgency, and Dad swore.
I boggled. Never in my whole life had I heard a swear word pass his lips. And what he’d said about staying with us. It was all I wanted.
“I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, and everything will be well. Kiss my granddaughter for me. I love you both.”
Then he hung up, and I had no clue which way was up.
