I suppress my smile. “He’s fine. We didn’t hurt him.”
“I’m going to need proof of that.”
“At some point, you’re going to have to trust me.”
“You’re dreaming if you think I’m ever going to trust another man again for as long as I live.”
I c**k my head to the side. “You seem to trust Eric.”
“He’s the father I never had,” she blurts out. Immediately after she says it, regret washes over herface, giving her instant color. “Or, I mean—that’s not what I meant.”
She looks down at her plate. “I have a father,” she says. “And he was around my whole life. He wasjust…”
“Not the kind of father you wanted,” I say, helping her out.
That seems to strike the right chord. She looks up at me and nods. “Sure. Yeah.”
“I know a little something about that.”
“Who could’ve guessed that
