The Boy Who Has No Hope (Soulless #6) - Victoria Quinn Page 0,52
a nice surprise.” He pulled me in for a one-armed hug before he guided me inside. “What brings you here, little man?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”
“Yeah?” He headed to the kitchen. “Want something to drink? Just opened a bottle of wine.”
“Sure.”
He grabbed two glasses and delivered one to me.
I took a drink and looked around. “Where’s Mom?”
“Working late. She’s got a party tonight.”
“Then you must be bored.”
He nudged me in the side before he moved to the couch. “Not anymore.” He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. “Want to watch the game? I was going to cook dinner, but we can order a pizza since I know you hate my cooking.”
I sat beside him and set the glass on the coffee table. “I don’t hate it.”
“You obviously don’t remember your childhood that well.”
“Well, I hated it then… Don’t hate it so much now.”
“You want me to make grilled cauliflower with rice, then?” he threatened, knowing I wouldn’t like a vegan dish at all.
“Let’s do the pizza.”
He chuckled and pulled out his phone to order it. “That’s what I thought.”
“How does Mom do it?” When I was young, we would sneak off and get ice cream or other snacks. It was our little secret, and I wouldn’t throw her under the bus now.
He grinned. “I make it up to her in other ways.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, come on…”
He chuckled and put his phone away before he watched the game. “You want to get a bet going?” He drank his wine and looked at me.
“Actually…I wanted to talk to you about something.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if picking up on my subdued tone. He put his glass down while keeping his gaze glued to my face. “Everything alright?”
“I’m fine, perfectly healthy.” Whenever something was wrong, my dad immediately jumped to a terrible conclusion, that someone was sick. Since he was an oncologist, it was just his nature to make those kinds of assumptions.
Relief moved into his gaze, like his worst nightmare had passed. “Good. Talk to me.”
“Well…it’s kinda weird.” I’d never talked to my father about stuff like this, but I really didn’t have anyone else I felt comfortable discussing this with…except Emerson. But I couldn’t talk to her either.
“You can tell me anything.”
“It’s about Emerson…”
His arms rested on his knees, and his hands came together, his head turned my way. He didn’t have a reaction, focused on listening.
“I can’t really explain what happened. It just dawned on me that she was the woman I wanted to be with. I stopped seeing other women…for a long time. She was the person I looked forward to seeing the most. It hit me in the oddest way. It seemed like she felt the same way, so…I kissed her.”
He was silent.
“She told me I wasn’t the right man for her…and that hurt pretty fucking bad.”
He closed his eyes in disappointment, like he’d been hoping, praying, for a happy ending. “I’m sorry, Derek.”
“Well…there’s more to this story. Time passed, and I was haunted by those words she’d said to me. So, I went to her apartment to confront her…and found out she has a daughter.”
His eyes widened in shock.
“I had no idea because she never told me.”
“Why?”
“A couple reasons. She says it’s difficult to be a single mother because of the way employers treat them, and I understand that. And also…her daughter is twelve, and she’s embarrassed that she had her so young. She thinks it makes her look bad.”
“She’s twelve?” he asked in surprise. “Then how old was she when she had her?”
“Sixteen or seventeen…I’m not sure exactly.”
Dad nodded but didn’t pass judgment. “Where does that leave you?”
“She said she doesn’t date because she’s waiting until her daughter has moved out, but she would be willing to make an exception for me…because of the way she feels about me.” She told me I was the sexiest man she’d ever seen, and that compliment made me so hot. But when she said something better, that she loved who I was underneath, it was the first time I’d felt like a woman actually liked me for me, even my flaws. “But she also said that if I have a relationship with her, I need to have one with her daughter too…and I don’t want to do that.”
He continued to stare at me, as if he expected more.
I was quiet for a while. “I assumed I would just move on, but I don’t want to be with anyone else. I