“Savage,” he corrected.
“Right, I’m sorry, Mr. Savage. But your father’s here to see you.”
Taylor closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. “I’ll be right down. Pour me a pint, will ya?”
“Right away.”
“There’s a good lad.” Then he turned his attention to me. “Rain check?”
I nodded because my throat was too dry to get any words out. “Am I attending this little reunion?”
He nodded. “If you don’t mind. I could use someone in my corner.”
“I’m always in your corner. I promise.”
16
BECCA
Taylor heldmy hand so tightly, like he was afraid he might lose something special if he let go. It made my heart ache. It was more than obvious that his father made him uncomfortable. He hadn’t exactly kept it a secret, but still, witnessing it firsthand was disconcerting. My big, strong Scot was brought to his knees by the one person who was supposed to love him unconditionally.
We descended the stairs into the warm air of the pub. The rich scents of food filling the air made me wish we were simply heading down to enjoy dinner. Instead we were greeted by a tall man with wiry salt and pepper hair and a well-kept beard. He looked just like Taylor, only an older version, like a snapshot of the future. We stopped in front of him. No loving greetings were exchanged. My husband simply reached out and gestured toward his father.
“This is my dad, Andrew McCullough. Dad, I would like you to meet my wife, Becca.”
Andrew narrowed his gaze at me, not impressed, clearly, but I really didn’t care.
“Well, she’s certainly not who I would have chosen for you. But I suppose she is passable.”
Taylor stiffened, his grip on my hand tightening.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t get to choose for him, then, isn’t it?” Unable to keep myself from letting my sass free, I offered him a wide grin.
Andrew laughed, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the house?”
Andrew sighed.“Your mother and I are taking some time apart.”
“Oh, do you mean she caught you cheating... again? And she threw you out... again?”
“That’s none of your business. What I do in my personal life is none of your concern.”
“It affects my mother. So it certainly is. It breaks her heart because she loves your stupid arse for God knows what reason.”
“You don’t understand the seriousness of marriage, or you wouldn’t have run off and married the first willing woman you found.”
It hurt because it was true, but there was no way I was going to let this puffed-up pompous dick make Taylor doubt himself.
“You know, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Somehow he turned out to be a kind, giving, loving person. Clearly the only one I have to thank for that is his mother.”
The look in Taylor’s eyes had my heart breaking for him.
“The least you could have done was bag a supermodel. But since you’re not even on a team that can win a championship, I suppose you just settled for a baker in debt to her eyeballs with no family.”
My stomach dropped. So he’d been checking in on me. Of course he had.
“You obviously don’t understand this, but not everything is about status and power.” Taylor slipped his arm around my waist and held me close.