a lot for him.”
He rapped his knuckles against the table.
“And I blame him for it. But it was never his fault. I’m not the best father. So I did the best I could by keeping my distance.”
“Well, that all sounds kind of shitty.” What else was I supposed to say to that?
“It was a choice. I can’t change it. I can only try to face what the results of those choices are. It’s part of why I wanted you to have this internship. When I saw your name on the list…I wanted you here. I’ve wanted to have this conversation with you for a while, but things weren’t working out. The dinner was a definite disaster. I should have realized you’d bring Archie, because you two have become such good friends.”
“Wait, why did you want to talk to me about it?”
“Archie was right about a few things. Before he turned eighteen, divorcing Muriel wasn’t an option. It is now. I’ve fulfilled the prenuptial agreement. She’ll receive a tidy sum, and we’ll both have our freedom.”
“Again, why do you want to tell me this? I get it, you’re engaged to Maddy. Good luck with that. But that’s not my problem anymore.”
“Maddy and I have known each other a long time, Frankie,” he said. “A long time. We actually knew each other back in school.”
What?
“We were close…practically engaged. We had a disagreement one night, and I went out and met Muriel.” His expression didn’t change an inch. If anything, he seemed carved from stone as he revealed these deeply personal and frankly disturbing details.
“Okay. Great. You used to know Maddy. More lies. So happy to know.” It was kind of nauseating actually.
Mr. Standish sighed and circled the table toward me. “I’m saying this badly, and you’d think after the months having to prepare, I would be able to handle this. But Maddy…Maddy wanted me to wait. and then she wanted to repair the damage done with you, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. She’s had nearly eighteen years to set this to rights, and if she isn’t going to, then I have to.”
My heart slammed against my rib cage as he narrowed the distance, but I took a breath when he stopped one chair away.
“I’m not a good man. In many ways, I’ve been a fairly terrible and selfish one. I cheated on her, and then I married another woman. I cheated on that woman with Maddy. Then Maddy punished me by not telling me she was pregnant when she left. I hadn’t seen her in years before we moved here. I think Muriel knew she was here and it was why she chose the place. Her own personal little bit of vindictive punishment.”
I was still back on the cheating on Muriel and Maddy being pregnant part.
“You cheated on Muriel by sleeping with Maddy?”
He let out a long sigh. “Yes. I’m your father. I’ve wanted to tell you since she provided me with the proof. She told me of course, after we reconnected…but I needed the evidence, and she had the DNA tests done… I’m aware this is a lot for you, and I’ve tried to…”
I was pretty sure he said other stuff after that, but I didn’t hear it.
“I can’t stay here,” I mumbled, grabbing my bag and turning.
“Frankie…”
When he tried to grab my arm, I flinched away.
“Don’t.”
None of this made sense.
None of it.
I yanked the door open and charged out of the office. The elevators kind of blurred ahead of me, and I kept jamming the down button until the doors dinged and opened. Inside, I pressed the button for the lobby, jabbing it frantically, and as the doors closed, I met Mr. Standish’s gaze.
No.
Not possible.
What the fuck just happened?
Edward Standish was my father?
Frankie and the boys will return in Trials and Tiaras.
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Trials and Tiaras
It’s not true.
It can’t be.
Four DNA tests. Only one positive. The man claiming to be my father is quite literally the worst option imaginable. This isn’t happening to me. For the first time in my life, I know who I am and where I want to be and, in the blink of an eye, everything is spinning so utterly out of control.
I thought the fight with Maddy was the worst thing I faced.
It’s not.
I’ve grown up in a house of lies and it’s all crashing down on the five of us, and I have no idea how to protect the ones I love best from the fallout. They’ve all made it clear, they’re not going anywhere.
Worse, I don’t know how to keep them from wading into this fight.
I can’t imagine my life without all four of them. I don’t want to.
We can survive this, right?
Afterword
Well, if you need a minute. Go ahead and do that. Grab some water. Maybe coffee. If it’s late and you were planning on sleeping, I hear breathing exercises are good.
Yeah, so I’ll wait.
Please don’t have damaged your Kindle or phone or other reading device. Do you need to check to make sure it’s okay? Yes? Okay. I’ll wait.
If you’re still here, I’m hoping all is well. If you’re asking did you just read that ending? Well, then the answer is also—yes. Sorry about that.
I promised you in the last book that their holiday in Colorado was very much needed and I think now you know why. Is this a curveball? Absolutely.
Do I hope you’ll trust me and return for Trials and Tiaras? Also yes. This series has truly taken on a life of its own. Frankie and the boys have become friends and in some ways family. I talk about them like they’re very much real people and I’ve been thrilled by how many of you have responded to them in the same way.
Their journey is far from over. I told you in the last book that happily ever after is a work in progress and I maintain that. They’re a unit, they can handle what life throws at them and they are adapting and shifting around in the relationship as they all find their footing in this dynamic. Curveballs and sucker punches are not the end of the road. Bad Meatloaf was always a problem that needed to be addressed and we always knew they’d come back around.
Thank you again for being on this journey with me. I am so excited to see where we go next. Fair warning, the gloves are off in the next book.
xoxo
Heather
About Heather Long
USA Today bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.
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Whispers and Wishes
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