they had to tell me.”
My throat tightened, and I fought down my emotions. I remembered it so well. They’d had Emmanuel break the news to me, there in my hospital room. He’d cried. We’d both cried. Emmanuel Clark was a shark, the ruthless COO of Montgomery Enterprises, the business “bad cop” that balanced my father’s ineffable charm. Emmanuel never cried. Hell, I didn’t either.
I’d never felt so alone in my goddamn life. I’d needed my father so badly at that moment, when everything hurt and I didn’t know if I’d ever walk again.
Billy wrapped an arm around me, offering comfort. I put my arm over his shoulder, grateful for it.
“I’d never appreciated how much I leaned on him until he wasn’t there.”
“I get that. What was he like, your dad? You look like him, you know.”
That made me smile. Yeah. Even in my most bratty adolescent years, I had always been secretly proud to look like my father. I spoke carefully. “Let’s see. He ran an import company. He took it over from his father. He was a dutiful son to my grandpa, by all accounts.”
“Hmmm. Our parents never tell us the gnarly stuff they did, though.”
“True. I get the feeling he was quite the lady’s man when he was younger. In fact, he had women interested in him until the very end. His CFO would have walked over coals for him.”
“Then you do take after him.” Billy looked at my face as though I was still a handsome devil. As if I looked anything like my father anymore. I suddenly realized that I wasn’t wearing my mask. I’d forgotten to put it on this morning. I touched my face self-consciously.
“It was just you and your dad? What about your mom?” Billy took my hand away from my face, gently holding it.
I shook my head. “They were divorced and my dad had full custody. He told me later, after I was grown, that she’d only married him for money and he caught her having an affair. Apparently she was happy enough to sign all parental rights over to him for a large settlement. I never had any interest in looking her up.”
Billy frowned, as if upset for my sake. But, honestly, it had been a long time since I’d given a fuck about my mother—or even thought about her.
“I had a great childhood though. My dad was super attentive. Like I said, he never missed one of my games. We spent every weekend together when I was growing up. Sailing or deep sea fishing. Traveling. He took me all over the world.” I sighed. “And then, of course, I became a teenager and was too cool to hang out with dear old Dad.”
That made Billy’s expression soften. He even smiled a little. “It happens to the best of us.”
“I don’t get the feeling it ever happened to you.”
He shrugged. “My mom was too fragile for me to have the luxury of rebelling. But I did a whole lot of grumbling, believe me. Was your dad serious? Funny? Strict? Did he do dad jokes?”
“Hmmm. He wasn’t naturally funny, but he loved to laugh. He liked comedies. Monty Python. Mel Brooks. Best in Show was his favorite.”
“I love that movie! Wow. I wouldn’t have thought someone as important as your dad would have time for stuff like that.”
That trickle of apprehension sounded inside me again. “Important?” What did he know about my father?
Billy flushed. “I mean, he looks important. And you guys own this house. Obviously, money isn’t an issue.”
“Well. You’re right. He was very successful in his field.”
“And successful as a father,” Billy said matter-of-factly.
I wanted to agree. Certainly, he’d been a good father. He’d given me everything. And, unlike the parents of some of my friends, that included the giving of his own time, of himself. But.
I stared into the distance, trying to capture that illusive something in my mind.
“What is it?” Billy asked, rubbing my back.
I shook my head. “I get these feelings, like something was wrong at the end. Something bad. But I don’t know what.”
“What do you mean?”
I clenched my fists in frustration. “I don’t know. My dad was killed while he was out jogging. It was a hit-and-run. But he was always very safety conscious. He never wore earbuds. Was he troubled? Distracted? Not paying attention?”
Billy just watched me, his face serious.
“Was I part of what was distracting him? Did we have a big fight before he died that I don’t remember?” I growled. “I just