My Dad's Rival

“What’s on your mind?” he whispers in my ear, kissing my ear lobe gently. I sigh again, feeling the heaviness on my chest.

“Everything…I’ve done too much lying lately, Wyatt. I don’t want to do it anymore. I-I think I have to come clean to my dad.”

Wyatt sits up a little straighter, staring at me. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to say something like that. “Really? You think that’s wise?”

I laugh without humor. “No, I don’t think it’ll go well at all. But I don’t think this is something I can hide from him. I can’t live under his roof when I’m betraying him this way. I just…I think if I’m honest with him, then it’s up to him how he wants to respond. But I have no intention of ending this thing between us. I don’t want to give you up, Wyatt. I’m finally happy. Maybe when he sees what you mean to me he’ll be able to forgive me.”

I know I’m lying to myself. If I tell my dad about any of this, he might never forgive me. He might never speak to me again. The thought cuts me deep and makes the idea of coming clean almost close to impossible. But the alternative is to leave Wyatt again, and I know I don’t have the strength for that. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not when my heart swells with emotion around him, filled with love. Not when it feels like I need him to live. To breathe.

“I’ll do whatever you want to do, baby,” Wyatt says, kissing the top of my head. “You know him best, and this only affects you. If you want to do this, then I’ll be by your side the entire way. And you should know, I feel the same. I’m never going to give up on you. No matter how this goes down you’re mine. I’ll always protect you, care for you, and be here for you. I won’t let anything stand in our way.”

I gaze up at him, feeling the ache of love in my heart. I want to tell him how I feel. I want him to know just how special he is to me. I’ve never felt this way before, and somehow, I know that I never will again. He was always the man I was waiting for. He’s the only man who could give me what I so desperately want. And now that I have him there’s no way I’m ever letting him go.

Wyatt reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “When do you want to talk to him?”

I bite my lip. I don’t feel ready to face my dad yet, but I don’t think I ever will. And the longer I wait, the harder it’s going to be, and the more dishonest I’m going to have to be to cover my tracks. I need to do this soon.

I swallow, feeling anxious about the answer I’m about to give.

“Tomorrow,” I whisper. “We have to do it tomorrow. Dad will be working from home tomorrow. We can head to my house and talk to him there. He won’t be happy about me bringing you into his house, but I don’t see any other way. I don’t want to cause a scene. At least we can talk in private this way.”

“Agreed,” Wyatt says. “Your father…I know he can be explosive. I know he’s going to be hard to deal with but we’ll get through this together. You and I, we were always meant to be. I think we can show him that.”

I sigh. “I don’t know, he’s never been a big believer in love. It didn’t work out for him…and I’m the one person in his life that he trusts, that he believes would never betray him. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but you’re the worst possible person I could have fallen for.”

Wyatt raises his eyebrow. “Fallen for?”

My heart stops. How did I allow myself to slip up like that? My chest tightens and I feel like I can’t breathe. I’m such an idiot. He’s going to think I’m crazy, ridiculous…

But Wyatt surprises me. He cups my cheek and stares right into my eyes.

“It’s okay. I understand, baby. Because I feel it too. I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you. And that’s why I know how much this matters, how much is resting on this tomorrow. But whatever happens, whatever is said or done…I love you, Lucy. I’ll always love you.”

I lose the ability to breathe as Wyatt leans in to kiss me and steals the last of the air from my lungs. I’m light-headed, floating, elated. I kiss him back, feeling the love flowing through us. When we break away, he’s smiling. I gasp for air, desperate to tell him what I feel.