(Slade’s POV)
I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the restaurant.
My father was already seated at the private table in the back, but he wasn’t alone.
Pippa sat beside him.
Her eyes lit up the second she saw me. She stood so fast her chair scraped the floor.
“Slade!”
Before I could brace myself, she threw her arms around me. Tight. Desperate. Like she thought I might disappear.
I stiffened.
I always stiffened.
She pulled back, trying to hide the hurt that flickered through her eyes. “I didn’t know if you’d come.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said flatly.
Dad sighed as he took a sip of his coffee. “She insisted.”
That made more sense. Pippa insisted on a lot of things. She insisted on family games time when we were younger. She insisted on calling me every bi
