Hooked by Love (Bellevue Bullies 3)

“It means if I see you, I see you. If I don’t, then I don’t.”

“You’ll see us. We want to go to dinner with you two. I’d like to get to know the boy who has married my daughter and made a child.”

I pause. “Dad, do you know his name?”

My dad pauses. “Sinclair.”

“First name.” I hear him typing and I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re googling him?”

Jace snorts from beside me as my dad says quickly, “No, Jace, his name is Jace.”

“Whatever.”

He pauses and then says softly, “Please, Avery, I want to see you.”

The sincerity in his voice leaves me breathless as I close my eyes. “Fine, I’ll talk to him and see if he wants to go.”

He chuckles. “He will. He isn’t stupid; he knows who I am.”

“Wow, okay.” I shake my head. “Very arrogant, Dad.”

“Maybe, but I want to see you.”

“Why?”

“Like I’ve said before, you’re my daughter.”

“Who you’ve cut off,” I remind him and he lets out a breath. I can’t say I was surprised when I went to use my credit card and it didn’t work. But I wonder if he would cut off Matty or Laurence if they got into a position like I did. I doubt he would have, and I really wonder what he would do if he found out Matty was gay. Not that I plan on telling him or anything, but I just wonder.

Would they get treated the same?

“You have a husband. You don’t need me.”

“You’re right. So I don’t need to see you.”

“Well, I’m asking to see you,” he says, his voice dropping an octave. “Please, Avery. Your mother is worried sick about you.”

“I bet. That phone is ringing off the hook.”

“Avery Rose, please. We want to see you. I feel you think things you shouldn’t, and I want to make them better.”

Make them better?

How do you fix eighteen years of shit?

When Jace squeezes my hand, I look over at him and he nods his head. “Just say yes,” he mouths and I shake my head, but he nods his once more.

Glaring, I say, “Okay, Dad. We will go to dinner with you.”

“Good, I’ll call you when we get in that Friday.”

“Okay.”

He pauses and he says very softly, “I love you, honey. I do, and I don’t know how that got forgotten, but I’m sorry for that.”

My heart stops as my eyes fall shut, shocked at the unexpected apology. “Dad, I never thought you didn’t love me, it’s just that you don’t care.”

“And that’s my fault. I’ll see you soon. I wish it were sooner, but the damn All-Star game is keeping me busy.”