Bachelor Swap, Lacey Black [best short novels txt] 📗

I absorb his words, trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying.

“What he did with you, pursuing and dating you, was wrong, no doubt. Paying his brother to fly to Boston and pretend to be him is almost inexcusable, especially since you were involved, but I don’t believe he really did it to hurt you. I think he did it because he felt pushed, and maybe a little trapped. He needed reassurance he could close this deal as quickly as possible.”

“That’s no excuse to lie to someone, Daddy.”

“No, no it’s not. He was dishonest, plain and simple, and I think the best step forward is to tear up the contract tomorrow. There are a dozen companies ready and willing to purchase Evolution and probably even pay more than Wilder was. I’ve had a few reach out to me lately, trying to swindle their own negotiation under the table. I bet Harold would even stay on a little longer to help,” he says, referring to his CFO who is retiring post change-over.

“No,” I find myself saying. “Don’t do that.” I don’t know why I’m even consider saying what I’m about to confess, but I guess my father’s words, his observation regarding Matthew stuck with me. “I don’t think you should cancel the deal with Wilder Group.”

“You don’t?” he asks, genuine surprise filtering across his face.

I shake my head. “No. You chose him for a reason. You put your entire faith and trust in him and his company before you found out about Mason and what they did. I don’t think you’d be truly happy with anyone else taking your business, Daddy.”

“That wouldn’t matter. There’s a principal here, honey. He wronged you.”

“He did, but you yourself said, you don’t think he did it to hurt me.”

“But he did hurt you.”

I sag a little in my chair and give him a small smile. “No, he didn’t. It stinks that he was only dating me to make sure he got your company, but he’s not who hurt me, Daddy.”

“Mason.”

I nod.

“You really fell in love with him,” he says without a trace of question.

“I did.”

He reaches across the table, takes my hand within his, and sighs. “What he did was wrong too. We know it, but he does too. I saw it in his eyes. The hurt, the anguish, the love.”

I’m already shaking my head in disagreement. “You don’t do that to someone you love, Daddy.”

“No, no you don’t, but what if you fell in love along the way? What if you had a job to do, whether it was right or wrong, and over the course of completing the job, you started to fall? I’ve only met Mason once, over dinner last week, but do you know what I learned during that hour and a half we ate and chatted?”

Suddenly, it dawns on me that last week’s client dinner was actually a meal shared with my dad. I can’t believe it. I close my eyes and shake my head in disbelief. When I open them, he’s still watching me, waiting for me to answer. “What did you learn?”

“Mason Wilder is a decent man, sweetheart. He’s a man who made a big mistake, but I have no doubt he’s a good person.”

What do you say to that? I want to argue, but what’s the point?

“Can I ask you something?” he asks, holding my gaze. When I nod, he goes on. “What do you want?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused by his question.

“What do you want from this life, Kyla? Are you happy, living here and volunteering at the shelter?”

“I love the shelter,” I argue immediately.

“I know you do,” he says, smiling. “It showed last night. I can tell by the way you light up every time you share a story about an adoption or something one of the animals did that day. You were born to work with animals, honey. It’s your calling, but that’s not really what I meant. Are you happy here? In Boston?”

I open my mouth to insist I am, but nothing comes out. The city has never really felt like a home to me. It’s comfortable and close to the ones I love, which is a big part of why I’ve stayed.

“That’s what I thought,” he says, shaking his head and looking away. “This is my fault.”

“What is?” I ask.

“You stayed here for me.”

“That’s not true,” I argue, but he won’t let me continue.

Dad holds up his hand so he can explain. “It is true. I knew it in my heart the day I handed over the keys to this place. Oh, you thought it was lovely and was impressed with the security measures, but it wasn’t what you really wanted. You’ve never really enjoyed the city life or having tall, steel buildings surrounding you. So, tell me the truth, Kyla. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?”

I want to lie, to insist I love my home and the city, but I know he’d see right through me. And it would be wrong of me to lie to him, especially when the whole reason I’ve been upset is because I was deceived.

Closing my eyes, I picture myself living out of the city, in a wide-open space with room to run. A yard with dogs napping under the shade trees and chickens around the barn. And horses. There would definitely be a horse or two and cows. Lots and lots of cows. There would also be a cowboy fixing a broken fence board, his ballcap low on his face to shield the hot sun and his T-shirt molded to his body from sweat. He feels my eyes on him and turns around, awarding me with a panty-melting grin that promises dirty things later that night.

Mason.

I don’t even realize I’m crying until a napkin is placed against my palm. Bringing it to my eyes, I hold it there to mop up the moisture, but it’s well saturated quickly.

“Kyla?” my dad whispers, drawing my attention. “I