Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Guilt swamped her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come between the two of you.”
Her mother’s head shook. “I think we’ve been moving toward this moment for a long time. It was different when you were in college. Your father could keep fooling himself then.”
“That I wasn’t a…”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare use that word. It’s kind of funny when it’s him. But he would never think that word about a woman. He could pretend you weren’t as active as you were.”
And there was the shame. It wasn’t something she normally felt. Her sex life felt normal to her. She’d gone a little crazy in college, but she’d settled a lot since then. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay pure.”
Her mother sighed. “Daisy, this is a hard conversation.”
“I don’t understand why. If it had been Aidan having a good time, I doubt Da or you would be upset.”
“I’m not upset at all, baby,” her mother explained. “Please don’t take my frustration with your father to mean I’m angry with you. I’m not. I’m so happy for you because I think you and Nate are going to be good together. And I don’t care what you did in college as long as you were safe, and you seem to have been. I’m frustrated because your father can’t look past his own issues to see it.”
A sense of her own weariness hit. Nate liked her now, but what if he turned out to think like her father? “I like him. But I’m sure it won’t last…”
“Why wouldn’t it last?” her mom asked.
“Because it’s me, Mom. Some guys might think I’m attractive for a while, but they usually go away. They think I’m high maintenance or something. I don’t know. I’ve kind of gotten used to the idea I won’t find anyone. Why do you think I want a career so badly? I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have a family.” She didn’t like to wallow, but she was feeling raw right now. “I mean, I’ll be a great aunt to Aidan’s kids and to my friends’ kids. So I know it won’t last because no guy wants to put up with me.”
Her mother’s face fell. “Baby, what made you think that? Daisy, you’re a beautiful, smart, funny young woman. Everyone adores you.”
“Really?” Daisy could hear the disbelief in her own tone. “It feels like they tolerate me most of the time. I’m merely Aidan’s kid sister. Da has always been the one who supported me no matter what, and I know that’s because I hid a lot from him. But now he’s starting to see who I truly am, and he’s got a problem with me. Nate will, too.”
“Your father has some blinders on when it comes to you, sweetie. Like I said, it was inevitable they would come off at some point. The way he treats you has a lot to do with his past.” Her mom sat back, considering her. “Your father’s family was complicated. His mother, from what I can tell, was a hard woman. He didn’t have a sister growing up. He only had a brother and a mom. His mother was bitter, to say the least, and so he took care of his brother.”
“The one we don’t talk about?” She’d always thought it odd since there were pictures of her mother’s family—including her first husband and Daisy’s half-sister, Madison. They were all gone now, but there was a place for Mom’s family in their home. But nothing for her da’s family. He’d taken them to Ireland, shown them around Dublin, and every now and then he would mention his brother. He would show them a building and say this was where he and Rory used to hide when the bullies would come for them. Or that’s the church where his mum took them every single Sunday. But no real information beyond what they’d passed, and that was that.
Her mom nodded. “Because he betrayed your father in the worst way. Your dad put a lot of his soul into Rory, and it turned out so badly. He watched him die, would have been the one to pull the trigger if he’d been given the chance. He was trying to save me at the time.”
Daisy felt her eyes go wide. Her parents seemed to have perfect lives. “Da’s brother tried to hurt you?”
“Yes,” her mother agreed. “You know your father and I met during an investigation, but what we don’t talk about is the mission itself. He was investigating a man who turned out to be his own brother. It’s a very long story. Serena did a good job with it. A Soldier is Forever.”
Now she felt her jaw drop. “The one where Amy works for the dude who stole a billionaire philanthropist’s identity, and Leo has to romance her to get close only to discover it’s his long-lost brother who is using the charity as a front for an arms dealership?”