He kissed me once more before I left him. Then he watched me at his office door as I walked down the long hallway to the exit.
I hailed a taxi and took it back to my apartment in Harlem, happy that we had made a decision, even though a sense of guilt flooded through me. Lara would not be pleased.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The rest of the day couldn't pass quickly enough. I went back to my father's apartment as I promised I would and was smiling like an idiot thinking of my meeting with Drake later that night. I had to bite my lip to stop the grin from getting any larger and took in a deep cleansing breath. I put on my best glum face and popped my head into his study. He was sitting in his chair, his tie undone and his shirt open at the collar, sleeves rolled up. He had his black reading glasses on and was studying a paper.
"Hi, Daddy."
"Hello, dear," he said, putting the paper down. "You're back. I was so worried about you."
"I thought I'd come by. I'm lonely…"
"Is everything OK with you? You look a bit flushed."
I shook my head. "It's cold out."
"Are you feeling OK?"
"Still a bit disappointed."
He stood and came over to me, his hands on my shoulders. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Breaking up with Drake? You two seemed so happy together while we were out scuba diving. What changed?"
I sighed and turned away, feeling bad to be lying to him, but I had no choice.
"I think I was just a bit infatuated but when we were alone and away from everything, it just became apparent that he's too old for me."
"Nonsense, Kate. I'm twenty years older than Elaine and we're very happy."
"Maybe you're younger at heart than Drake, Daddy. He's a bit of a fuddy-duddy."
"A fuddy-duddy?" He frowned at me. "I never would have thought that about Drake…"
Oh, Daddy, if you only knew how far from an old fuddy-duddy he is…
"Will you be staying here all night?"
"No," I said, hoping I wasn't overdoing it with the Drake dissing. "I'm better. I'll stay for supper if it's OK and then go home. I have to go to class tomorrow so I need a good night's sleep."
He nodded. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want. I know Elaine enjoys having you here. I do, too, but I'm really busy with the campaign."
"Thanks, Daddy. I have to get back to my life."
Dinner was quiet, but I had to submit to Elaine's questions about Drake and how I was feeling and my father's pointed stare as I answered. It was like he didn't believe me and kept frowning when I spoke about why Drake and I weren't right for each other.
Finally, I yawned about eight o'clock and said I needed to go.
"Take the service," he said. "Why spend your money on a cab?"
"If you insist," I said, because he wouldn't let up. "I can afford cab fare."
"Nonsense," he said, accepting no refusal. "Why have an old man with money if you can't take advantage of it now and then?"
He bundled me up in my coat and handed me my bag. I kissed him on the cheek as was our usual practice. He pulled me into a hug, which wasn't our usual practice.
"You know what I think?" he said, his voice soft. "I think you don't really want to end it with Drake. If you change your mind, I'm sure – in fact I know he'd be only too pleased. So don't do this if you really don't want to. Life is too short. People come into and go out of your life and sometimes it's only when they're gone that you realize how you felt about them. How much you cared."
I sighed. "Do you mean Mom?"