Nate’s mad. Mom’s lost it completely. Lindsey is furious.”
Dad tugged me closer. “Mandy, what’s the real reason you kept it secret?”
“Real reason?”
“I know you. You’ve never hidden from anything in your life. You face your problems head on…or, you used to. Why did you really hide?”
I didn’t ask if he meant hiding the truth from Nate or the rest of our family. I swallowed.
“Our family has been through enough,” I said. “I wanted one event that might have made us feel whole again. Everyone’s been fighting and angry. I thought if I took the brunt of all the insanity, maybe I could keep everyone calm enough to…I don’t know. Be a family again, if only for a night.”
I felt stupid saying it, like I was a little girl who couldn’t understand why her parents split. I did understand, but that didn’t mean I liked it. Dad ruffled my hair. I smirked.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I haven’t been taking your divorce very well,” I said.
Dad chuckled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, neither have I.”
“It’s just…no one seems happy. I always thought love would be like…a fairy tale. You’d know the instant you were meant for someone, you’d get married, and it’d be…perfect.”
“There’s your problem,” Dad said. “There is no perfect relationship, just like there’s no right time for a baby. Every couple is different. They love and they hate and they desire each other, and none of it is the same for other people. Don’t measure your possible happiness based on the misery of others. Not when you deserve to experience all the love in the world.”
“But what happens if it fails?”
“Marriage is not solely about love. It’s work and commitment. I don’t believe any two people are meant to be, but I know plenty of people who rely on fate and chance to solve their problems. You have to nurture your relationship. That’s the secret of marriage, and that’s why mine failed. And it’s also why I’ve been trying to get your mother back. I know how it should be done now.”
I sighed. “I can’t believe you’re so forgiving.”
“Your mother forgave more.”
“But even after Marcus Washington, you’re still chasing her.”
Dad stiffened. He frowned at me. “Marcus?”
I arched an eyebrow. “She’s…been having an affair with him.”
“She what?”
Oh shit.
I leapt off the couch. “I thought you knew! You said you had forgiven her!”
“Forgiven her? I didn’t even know they…she’s having an affair with Marcus?”
“Yes! Remember? I walked in on them at the country club!”
“The country club—”
Dad froze. His eyes immediately averted from me, and he swallowed, hard. “Oh. You think…” He cleared his throat. “Okay, kiddo. That wasn’t Marcus Washington with your mom.”
God, that was a relief. “Then who?”
“That…was me.”
And the need for therapy returned. Great. Mom wasn’t having an affair. She was just fucking the brains out of her estranged husband.
Ew.
“Oh, thank God.” I covered my eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you from…that angle.”
“I’m all right with that.”
“What are you doing back with Mom?”
Dad looked even more ashamed, but he sheepishly shrugged. “It just happened. I’m sure you can relate. We got caught up in the moment.”
I nodded. “I can’t get out of my moments with Nate.”
“You sure it’s just a moment now?”
“I don’t want it to be.”
“Then you better tell that boy and tell him quick. It’s easy to fall in love, but it’s hard to make a relationship work.”
“Do you think he’d even…”
“Want you?” Dad pulled me into a hug. “That boy has loved you since you were kids.”
“He…has?”
“A father always knows. You tell him you want him, and he’ll be tripping over himself to buy the cutest damn onesie he can find for that baby.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I have two babies of my own, given to me by the woman I love. No man in his right mind is going to walk away from that blessing.” He didn’t let me cry. His smile helped to rebuild what had been shattered. “Now you have a wedding to get ready for.”
I shrugged. “Lindsey doesn’t want me there.”
“The wedding wouldn’t have happened without you. Your sister is like your mother. They won’t ask for help, and they get…defensive when they’re scared. Right now, your sister is scared. She needs you.”
“What if she gets upset that I crash the wedding?”
Dad picked up the bridesmaid dress from my bed and handed it to me. “Good thing you know best how to calm your sister down. Get changed. I’ll take you to the church.”
I twisted the dress