Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep #2) - Callie Rose Page 0,37

as he spoke again. “Are you… are you all right? Do you need anything?”

My eyes narrowed. “What, like money?”

“Anything.”

“What about what Jacqueline said?”

“She doesn’t have to know,” Philip intoned, his voice gaining strength. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” I stepped off the path into the shade of a tree near Hammond, leaning against the side of the large white building. “I… my mom left me money in a trust. A lawyer helped me get access to it early. So I don’t need anything.”

There was such a long pause that I had a momentary worry he’d passed out or something, but then he spoke again. “I’m sorry, Talia. For what your grandmother—for what I did. I should never have allowed you to get on that plane. Jacqueline is still adamant about cutting you off, but… I can’t lose another daughter.”

“I’m not your daughter,” I said stiffly.

“No. But you’re the closest thing I’ll ever have to one now. I didn’t stop your mother from leaving, and I lost her forever. I made the same mistake with you. Old fool.”

The last words were muttered under his breath, not even meant for me, but they were the ones that lodged in my heart.

He was an old fool. He could’ve stood up for me when Jacqueline had gone after me, when she’d vowed to cut me out of her life. Even now, I was certain he was going behind her back to call me.

But he had called.

And I wasn’t his daughter, but he was the only family I had left.

“Fine.” I bit my lip, already beginning to regret my decision. “I’ll meet you. But we meet where I say, and we talk about what I want.”

“Of course. Of course!” he promised in a rush, relief clear in his tone.

I told him to meet me in an hour at a little cafe in Roseland that I’d been to with Leah once, then ended the call before I could change my mind. After dropping my backpack off at my dorm, I called an Uber and went to the drive on south side of Craydon to meet it.

Traffic was light, and I was twenty minutes early—but Philip was already there. He stood so fast when he saw me that he almost knocked over the little round table he was sitting at, and when I approached, his body stuttered forward and back, like he wasn’t quite sure how to greet me.

I wasn’t sure either, to be honest, so all I did was wave. Then we sank into chairs opposite each other.

Philip didn’t look good. He looked older than I remembered, his face worn and haggard. His eyes were a little bloodshot, and he looked like maybe he’d lost weight. But he smiled when he looked at me, a disbelieving expression on his face.

“Thank you for meeting me. I—I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I almost didn’t,” I said honestly, and he dropped his head, shame twisting his features.

“I’m sorry, Talia,” he murmured.

“Yeah, you said.”

It was the most civil response I could give. It hurt to hear those words, because I’d been learning slowly not to believe them—not to trust changes of heart or overtures of peace. But a part of me still wanted to.

He insisted on buying me a latte, and a snide, bitter part of me wondered if he’d hide the receipt from Jacqueline. When he settled back into his chair, I met his gaze.

“Tell me about my mother.”

His brows drew together, and pain flashed in his eyes. But I’d told him we would talk about what I wanted to talk about, and he seemed to remember that. He drew in a deep breath, meeting my gaze.

“She was smart. Driven. Like you. She was always a little rebellious, and she and your grandmother butted heads all through her teen years. But after she graduated high school and went through college, things got better. Then…” He stared down into his cup. “They got worse.”

My stomach twisted, but I didn’t let the heaviness of his voice stop me. I’d been told vague snippets and little half-truths by him and Jacqueline the whole time I lived with them. I wanted the whole fucking story for once.

“How?” I pressed.

“She… she changed. Everything was wonderful. She had you. She and her friends were thick as thieves, all having kids around the same time. They started their own company. Then, out of nowhere, she became like a different person. She turned on her friends, on your grandmother and me. She seemed to hate all of us, and