Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted #3) - Shayla Black Page 0,67

she was pressed against him from shoulder to knee, her face turned toward him.

“I know.” She sighed, as if dredging up this story took monumental effort. “I got there on Monday, right? My first time meeting Kathleen. She took one look at me and told me I look like my mom. Then she said that she refused to have an unwed mother in her house.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Zy wished he had the opportunity to tell Kathleen what a judgmental cow she was.

“Oh, yeah. I pointed out it was my dad’s house, too. But since my dad wasn’t around, she put her foot down. Thankfully, before I had to plunk down the money for eleven days in a hotel, a childhood neighbor stopped by and offered me a place to stay. It was way better than dealing with Kathleen. She tried every which way to keep me from seeing my dad. He was too tired or too overwrought or too fill-in-the-blank. Whatever. I really thought on Tuesday that Dad had turned a corner, and I finally started going around the bitch and walking into his room whenever I wanted.”

“Good for you.”

“Wednesday was a great day. Daddy seemed alert and happy. He loved that I’d brought Hallie to meet him. The way he looked at her… I could tell he loved her the moment he saw her.” Tessa’s bittersweet smile tugged at him. “He told me he was sorry for marrying so quickly after my mom’s death. At the time, he’d felt alone and lost and helpless—and he hated that feeling. He’d been married for so long, he didn’t know how not to be married. But he didn’t love Kathleen, and he especially hated that she’s jealous of my mom’s memory. But it was obvious to everyone that she knew she was always going to be second place. Once I understood that, I stopped giving a shit what Kathleen thought. Anyway, Daddy was set to get out of the hospital on Friday if he continued to progress, and I was going to stay a few extra days. But then…” She teared up and crystal drops started rolling down her face. “He went to bed on Wednesday night and died in his sleep. His heart just stopped.”

He curled his arm around her waist and squeezed her. “I’m really sorry, baby.”

She laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh. “I am, too. But at least I got closure. Dad and I were in a good place, and I got some great pictures of him with Hallie.”

“Then I’m glad you went.” But he’d missed her like crazy.

“Same. I just wish things had turned out differently.” Her voice broke.

Zy knew her breakdown was coming, so he turned to face her and opened his arms. “Come here, baby.”

Tessa went without hesitation, gripping his shirt as she hid her face in his chest. She was so quiet, so still, he didn’t think she could possibly be crying. Then she sucked in a jagged breath and her body shuddered. And she let go.

He brushed his palms up and down her heaving back in a comforting path as she released her debilitating grief. “Get it out. I’m here.”

She nodded. “I-I wished you were there so many times to help me. To hold my hand. To tell me it would be okay even though I knew it wasn’t.”

It sucked that he hadn’t been, but he’d be here with her now as long as she’d let him. “Why didn’t Cash come, at least for the funeral?”

Tessa snorted, and he heard her anger. “Why would he?”

Was she kidding? “Because he’s your boyfriend.”

She reared back with a scowl. “Who told you that?”

“He did.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “And you believed him? He’s full of shit. But that’s no surprise. If his lips are moving, he’s lying.”

Zy’s heart stopped. “So…you’re not together?”

“No. We stopped dating shortly before I found out I was pregnant.”

“But not since then?”

“During the pregnancy we didn’t date. There was a time I thought we might get back together, but he wasn’t interested in me or his daughter, just in the sex. And once he decided I’d gotten too big for that, he was out.”

“What a douche.”

“Yep. I sure can pick ’em… When my dad asked about Hallie’s father, I said he wasn’t in my life anymore. To me, he’s not.”

“So why are you living together?”

“We’re not.” She held up a wobbling finger. “Well, we live under the same roof, but we’re not ‘living together.’ He moved in so we could