Page 57 of Resisting His Charm
“You mean besides taking her to dinner with my parents two weeks into dating her? Having my sister announce to me that she’s dying? Gee, Dad, I don’t know why she ran from such a great fucking situation.”
“It’s not you,” Dad says. “Obviously, you’re a fucking catch for any woman. You did come from me after all. Also, that girl was very much into you when I left you two in the living room last night. So what happened between then and now?”
“Nothing. We came home and went to bed. I woke up without her.” As the words leave my mouth, I recall her strange reaction to Tío E. I thought it was just the fact she was meeting more of my family than she was prepared for. “Tío E…” I say aloud.
“What about him?”
“He came into the house as we were leaving, looking for Mom. Poppy seemed off when he introduced himself. I thought she was just nervous about meeting more family.”
“Emmanuel can be intimidating if you don’t know him,” Dad agrees.
“Tío E is intimidating when youdoknow him,” I counter.
My uncle is the leader of the fucking cartel. I don’t really think too much about it. I’ve grown up with him. But being a stranger and meeting him for the first time could be daunting. Especially if they’ve heard his name in the news.
“Your sister is going to be okay. We’ve got an appointment with one of the best doctors in the country. We’ll figure it out,” Dad says after another moment of silence.
“Yeah,” I agree and really fucking hope that we do. I still feel guilty for betraying Imogen and telling our parents about her being sick. I don’t regret it, but I also feel like shit because I’ve never gone against her wishes before.
“She’s had a change of heart. Imogen. She wants to do treatment,” Dad continues.
When my sister told me she was sick, she was adamant she didn’t want treatment, said it was pointless. I talked to her until I was blue in the face, trying to get her to change her mind. Nothing I said worked.
“What did you say to her?” I ask my father.
“It wasn’t me. It was Poppy.”
“What she say?”
“Something about not being enough for anyone, and that if Imogen gives up, it’s you who will suffer, not her.” Dad takes asip of the whiskey in his tumbler. “I don’t know. All I heard was she changed her mind and that’s all that matters.”
What the fuck? Why would they even be talking about it?
“Right.” I nod. I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do.
“You should read that file your mother gave you. That girl has suffered more loss than anyone should. It might give you some insight into who you’ve gone and fallen in love with,” Dad tells me.
“I’m not in love.”
“So you planning on bringing all the chicks you hook up with to family dinners?”
“She’s not some chick I’m hooking up with. She’s different,” I tell him.
“Really? How so?”
“She just is. That doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.”
“Okay, sure. Read the file, Sammie J. Figure out where she went and go and get her. Don’t waste time wallowing in self-pity.”
“I’m not chasing anyone around the fucking country. If she wanted to be here, she would have stayed. Besides, I need to focus on Imogen. She needs me now more than ever.”
“No,Ineed to focus on Imogen. She’s my daughter. You need to get your girl before someone else does. Also, I want to thank her. You got her number? I’ll give her a call.”
“Yeah, because having the guy she just snuck out on in the middle of the fucking night’s father call her isn’t weird at all.” I shake my head. He’s not getting that number from me.
“It’s not weird,” Dad says.
More footsteps sound out through the open door. “When did my apartment become a drop-in center?” I groan as Elias, Alfie, and CJ all appear on the threshold.
