good to finally meet you.”
“Same. Have a seat.” He motions to the end of the bed, so I sit down, leaving one foot on the floor. “I wish we weren’t meeting with me lying in bed, but the doctor wants me to preserve my strength.”
I nod in understanding.
“I hear you’re feeling well today,” I say.
“Each day is different. Some days I feel like I’m dying, others there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
I shift on the mattress. Looking at him reminds me of all the time my mom spent in her bed when she was wasting away. Like most uber-wealthy people, the hospital comes to them for a lot of things and not the other way around.
“I’m sure you’ll have more good days. Isla tells me your treatment is going well.”
He nods gravely and starts coughing. Hector looks like he’s in pain, and I go to stand to help him—to do what, I have no idea—but he waves me off, so I sit back down and wait out his coughing fit.
“I want to talk to you about my daughter.” He’s not smiling now, so I square my shoulders and settle in for what I expect to be a grilling.
“Of course.” I nod.
“I trust her judgment. Always have. She’s a smart woman.” He pauses to take in a deep, labored breath. “If she’s picked you, then you must be worth it.”
“I appreciate you saying that.”
“But I know your father. He’s tried to do some business with me in the past.” He pauses, his eyes investigating me, so I remain silent. The same look most people give me when they find out I’m Robert Stone’s son. Am I the bad apple that fell from the rotten tree? “He doesn’t like to be told no.”
My chuckle escapes before I can stop myself. “No, he doesn’t. Even less so from his son, I assure you.”
A small smile tilts the corners of his lips. “What I want to know is whether you’re anything like your father.” It’s clear where Isla got her bluntness from.
“My worst nightmare would be to be anything like my father.” My hands fist on my thighs.
Hector gives a small nod, hopefully his sign that he believes me.
“I need you to promise to always look out for my daughter. To protect her and love her.”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
He coughs again and I wait patiently for the fit to pass. I’m beginning to think there’s a real possibility that this man is putting on a brave face in front of his daughter and wife. He’s clearly suffering.
“Good, good,” he says once he’s recovered. “I hope you’re not some all-talk guy, because if you hurt her, I will find the strength to climb out of this bed and make you pay.”
“Sir—”
He holds up a weak hand. “Let’s not, okay? The reality is that this disease might take me out. I’m not so na?ve as not to realize the possibility of that is great at this point. But I’ve had a good life with both my girls. I need to know that someone will be looking out for Isla and her best interests after I’m gone. Whether that’s in two weeks or twenty years.”
His voice is solemn but full of acceptance. I brush off the urge to tell him platitudes and promises he’d only see as bullshit coming from my mouth. Like he said, there’s a real possibility that he’ll never see me fulfill the promises.
“I’ll look out for her,” I say. I meet his gaze and say it with all the sincerity I can, “I always protect what’s important to me.”
He nods. “Good. If you don’t, I’ll haunt you from the grave, boy.”
I chuckle.
Hector coughs again and yawns once the cough takes his energy from him. “Hopefully I’ll be out of this bed soon so I can toast you and my daughter with a drink, but for now I need to rest.”
Standing from the bed, I nod. “It was good to meet you.”
“Surprisingly, same. Will you send my wife in so I can say goodnight to her?”
“Of course.”
With a small smile, I turn and leave, closing the door softly behind me.
On my way to the kitchen, I find Isla pacing at the end of the long hallway, waiting for me to come out.
“Hello, sunshine.” I pull her in for an embrace, but she pushes against my chest.
“My mom said my dad wanted to meet you. How did it go?” Her eyes are wide and filled with concern. “I would have