‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his gaze softening. ‘I take it you were close?’

She frowned. It was a strange question. He had been her father—of course they’d been close. But then... Did he not have a father he was close to?

‘Very,’ she said, burying the thought—she didn’t need to know that about him. ‘No matter how busy he was, he always made time for us—in fact, he was the one who taught me to play.’

She gestured to the piano, a brief memory of being sat down with her father the Christmas he’d had it delivered filling her mind, and she gave a small smile, the gesture falling as the emptiness of him no longer existing returned.

‘What happened?’

She met his eyes and something inside her cracked, his interest blindsiding her with the urge to cry.

‘A heart attack.’ She swept a hand across her dry cheek, smoothing away phantom tears. ‘It was a long time ago, but it was unexpected. I guess the shock has never quite left me.’

He nodded with understanding. ‘And so you do it all for him?’

‘In some ways,’ she acknowledged. ‘He effectively ran himself into an early grave, making sure we had everything we could possibly want. And when he went... Let’s just say things weren’t too straightforward financially. My family home costs a small fortune to run and my mother isn’t well. She needs a lot of support and living at home helps keep her settled...’

Thoughts of her mum had sadness welling up inside her, and she broke off as the helplessness of their situation sucked at her resolve and she felt exposed, too vulnerable, the tears too close to the surface.

‘Your sister and mother both depend on you?’

She shrugged. ‘I’m the breadwinner. My sister’s due to start university next year, so there is only me, but I want to do it. I love my career, and I want to keep my father’s promise of a good life for us all. I want to do him proud.’

‘I think you’ve done that in spades.’

She smiled. ‘You’ll understand why I’m so indebted to Tony, then?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

‘I would,’ she said, tears now forgotten with the acute need to make him understand. ‘Seriously, it never would have happened without him. You didn’t know Tony back then—how amazing he was, how he could read a situation or an opportunity so well and make the perfect call. He could handle people and business deals with such skill that it left us all in awe, and he taught me so much.’

Marcus nodded, decent enough not to argue, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced.

‘It’s only in recent years that he’s started to be so—’ She broke off, unable to label it.

‘Unreliable?’ he provided for her.

She nodded ruefully. ‘But after seeing him today I’m beginning to understand it all. The gambling, the poor investments... I just had no idea he’d got himself into this bad a state.’

The shock of seeing him hit her anew and she shuddered. Her wine sloshed in her glass but she was too lost in the memory to care.

‘It was soul-destroying to see him so out of it. So drunk. I mean, he looked ill. Properly ill.’

He reached out and took the glass from her shaky hold. ‘He’s an alcoholic, Jennifer. What would you expect him to look like?’

She froze. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘I’m not.’

‘I don’t think getting off your face on the day you sell your share of your own business to cover a multitude of gambling debts and keep a roof over your family’s head labels you an alcoholic.’

He studied her, his eyes searching.

Did he think she was lying? Covering up on Tony’s behalf? Or in some strange denial?

‘I’m serious. I know he has a gambling addiction and needs help—but an alcoholic?’

He leant forward to set his drink down and angled his body towards her. ‘If it was a one-off I’d completely agree with you, but it’s not.’

Tags: Rachael Stewart Erotic
Source: readsnovelonline.net