“I’m just meeting Soph and Zoe at the house to go through some things. You should do this with your dad and Toby.”
“But—”
“No.” He cuts me off, brushing his thumb over my cheek. “You need to do this.” He can clearly sense that I need more, because he quickly adds, “We’ll talk later, promise.”
“Okay,” I breathe, not entirely happy about letting him go but knowing he’s right. He needs to deal with his own family stuff just like I do.
“I love you, Hellion.”
“I love you too.”
Seb grabs his wallet and keys from the side and disappears before I get a chance to change my mind and call him back.
“Ready?” Dad asks, pushing from the stool he was resting on.
“Uh…”
“I know this is weird. And I know it’s all my fault. We just felt that…” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Once we knew them coming to be with us was out of the question, we just thought it would be easier for you to deal with. We—”
“Dad,” I cut him off, “it’s all in the past. I might not like it, or agree with it. But it’s done. You both made your decisions, and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
He stares at me and shakes his head. “You’re so like her,” he says, a sad smile playing on his lips.
“Do I look like her?”
He nods.
“How have you looked at me every day if—”
“Because you’re the little bit of her that I got to take with me. A part of us. The best part.”
A lump clogs my throat at his words.
“O-okay. Let’s do this. I need to meet the woman who clearly owns your heart even after all these years.”