Page 16 of Finding the One (River Rain #7)

Something that didn’t need to be confirmed was, when Blake slapped his arm and snapped, “ Now , I’m mad at you.”

“Sorry, baby,” he muttered.

“She can’t do that,” Ned stated.

“Well, Dad, she has,” Blake said on a sigh.

“I was going to tell you tomorrow. I was busy with doing food prep while managing a hangover. I didn’t have time to be angry and throw a tantrum.

She’s having my things moved home.” A hesitation and then, “I won’t stay long. It’s time I found my own place anyway.”

“That is your place,” Ned said.

Blake nodded. “Yes. I know. I’ve been living there for years and she’s hardly ever there. But it’s still hers.”

“No, darling, that apartment belongs to the Norton estate,” Ned explained.

An electric vibe sizzled over the table.

“You are a Coddington,” Ned went on. “Heir to the title. She can’t keep you out of something you, in essence, own along with her.”

Blake said nothing.

Ned angrily tossed his napkin on the table, ground out, “Excuse me for a moment,” and stormed out of the room.

“Dad!” Blake called.

Ned didn’t stop.

“Excuse me,” Blake said, tossing her own napkin to the table, getting up and rushing after her father.

Dair didn’t hesitate to move even if his mother and sister exchanged an uncertain glance.

He caught up with her and walked beside her to what was clearly Ned’s office.

He had his phone to his ear.

Dair felt his family come up behind them (because, of course curiosity sent them following).

“Yes, it’s me,” Ned snarled into the phone.

“Now, if you don’t want yourself embroiled in a massive lawsuit, you will cease packing Blake’s things this fucking instant .

You don’t have the privilege of removing her from a family property.

And if you fight back on this, the Norton estate will not fund your legal fees, which will be inconvenient for you, considering you ran through the settlement I gave you decades ago. ”

He paused to listen, but he didn’t pause pacing with agitation, though he stopped when he spoke again.

“Oh yes, Helena, I am very familiar with the terms of the Norton title, and the entire British peerage system, for this very reason. You are precisely the kind of woman who would use any means necessary to act out against or harm our children to get your way or to strike back. And here you are, doing just that. But I’ll not have it.

I believe, during our divorce, you learned not to go against me.

I suggest you call that lesson up now. If Blake wants to move out, Blake can move out when she wishes to do so.

What she will not do is be put out simply because you’re pissy that your lover shared his true feelings for you, and those are that you were nothing but an easy lay. ”

Davi snorted.

Blake choked back a giggle.

Kenna whispered, “Oh my.”

Suddenly, Ned’s back shot straight.

There was a loaded pause before he said, “Do your worst.”

Then he hung up.

“Fuck,” he muttered before he dragged his fingers through his hair and turned around.

“You didn’t have to do that, Daddy,” Blake said.

And Christ, she called him daddy when she was being sweet.

It was cute.

But it was inconvenient.

Dair liked to be daddy.

“Though, that was epic,” she continued.

“I’ve been seeing a woman named Marlo for some time,” Ned said on a rush.

Blake’s frame froze solid.

Dair went to her and pressed his hand to her back.

“She means a great deal to me. Your mother knows. She also knows I haven’t told you girls. And she intends to share it with you. Your phone is probably ringing right now,” Ned finished.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Blake asked in a small voice.

“Perhaps we should—” his mother started.

“We were building our family back up again, darling,” Ned said softly. “I wanted you girls to have my full attention.”

“She means a great deal to you?” Blake asked.

“Yes,” Ned pushed out. “A great deal.”

“And your daughter just got married and you didn’t invite her?” Blake’s tone was now sharp.

Oh hell.

“Lassie,” Dair murmured.

Her head whipped toward him. “Fuck that, Dair.” She returned to her father. “How did this Marlo feel about that?”

“It upset her,” Ned admitted.

“I’ll fucking bet!” Blake near on shouted.

“We’ll leave you to—” his mother tried again.

“Don’t shout at me, Blake,” Ned ordered. “As disappointed as Marlo was, I made the right decision. I put other things before my daughters their whole lives. That had to stop. You’re my priorities.”

“Well, newsflash, daddy ,”—ah, Christ, that “daddy” wasn’t near as nice—“ you are our priority too.” She slammed her hands on her hips and yelled, “Oh my God! You froze out your girlfriend from Alex’s wedding. You’re never going to come back from that!”

“Marlo understands,” Ned asserted.

“How long have you been seeing her?” Blake demanded.

“A while,” Ned hedged.

“How long?” Blake pushed.

“Over a year.”

Oh fuck.

“ What? ” Blake shrieked.

Dair pressed harder into her back.

“Blake—” Ned began.

“You’ve been seeing her over a year ?” Blake asked.

“Yes,” Ned confirmed.

“So, is she upset or is she pissed?” Blake demanded.

“Pissed,” Ned confessed.

“As she should be. As am I!” Blake was being loud again. “Call her. Ask her to fly out immediately.”

“She works, darling,” Ned said. “She can’t drop everything and fly out here.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s the Executive Fashion Editor at Millicent .”

With what was wafting off Blake, Dair had the urge to step back.

Instead, he positioned behind her and curled his fingers around her hips in case she physically lost it.

“You’re telling me you’ve been keeping your girlfriend, the Executive Fashion Editor of the greatest fashion magazine ever , from me?” Blake asked in a deceptively quiet voice. Then she screeched, “ Me? ”

“It had to be the right time to tell you both,” Ned defended himself.

“And when would that be? The next millennium?” Blake returned.

Ned’s jaw grew hard. “I did what I thought was right.”

“Well, Dad, it was wrong . Phone her. Tell her I want to meet her. Alex will too. I mean, seriously ?”

“I’m pleased this is your response,” Ned said.

“And what did you think it would—?” Blake cut herself off and then she spoke snidely. “Oh, I know. You thought I’d throw a fit. Blake Sharp, up to her old tricks again.”

Dair dug his fingers into her flesh.

“Of course not,” Ned bit.

“So? Why? Over a year, Dad? Why ?” she pushed.

“Because I was enjoying our time!” Ned shouted.

Blake stilled.

“I found the woman meant for me not long after I came to the realization I’d been a shit father and I needed to stand up for my girls!

” Ned kept shouting. “You’ve bloomed into something extraordinary.

Rix makes Alex happy. You girls love spending time together.

I love spending time with you. But I also love to be with Marlo.

What do I do? Which one of you do I disappoint? ”

“Daddy, you being happy and spending time with a woman who you care about would never disappoint me or Alex,” Blake said softly.

“Marlo is a good woman. Sharp. Clever. Talented. Kind. Beautiful. But we’ve finally built something priceless, you girls and me. I didn’t want anything to disturb it,” Ned replied.

“Oh, Daddy!” Blake cried, pulled from Dair’s hold, rushed to her father and threw herself in his arms. After they held on for a while, Dair heard her say, “You must phone her. Tell her you told me. Tell her I’m annoyed with you for keeping her from me.

And we’ll do lunch or something when we get home. ”

“I’d love that, darling.”

Crisis over, Dair moved to leave them to it, and when he did, he saw his mother and sister had already left.

He joined them at the dining room table.

They both stared at him.

He picked up his cutlery and continued eating.

“Are they all right?” Davi asked.

“As rain,” Dair answered after swallowing potato that had soaked up au jus.

It was going on cold, but it was still fucking fantastic.

“I must say,” his mother started, “it’s quite a feat.”

“What is?” Davi asked.

“How Blake handpicked all the good parts of her to keep, and held tight, and binned all the parts her mother gave her.” Kenna lifted her fork with some beef to her mouth, chewed it, swallowed it and concluded, “She’s quite something.”

She absolutely was.

Blake and Ned returned and took their seats.

“My apologies for the melodrama,” Ned said.

“Och, Ned, you’ve made my month by calling Helena an easy lay,” Kenna said.

Ned’s lips curved up.

“We shouldn’t have followed,” Kenna went on.

“Then you would have missed the good part,” Ned drawled. He drew a line under it when he asked, “Did you save room for Blake’s vanilla cake? Or, after we finish here, shall we adjourn to the living room for digestifs and give our stomachs time to settle?”

“I couldn’t eat another bite,” Davi said even while she popped a piece of roll into her mouth. “But I’m not missing vanilla cake. Or a digestif.”

“We’ll play Ticket to Ride,” Ned said.

“God, Dad, no . You smash everyone at that game every time,” Blake returned. Then to the table, she declared, “It drives Rix up the wall.”

“Ticke to Ride?” Kenna asked.

“It’s a board game,” Ned told her.

Blake Sharp played board games?

Fuck, the woman just got better and better.

“Which is why we should play it,” Ned said to his daughter. “Give you another shot to knock me off my winning streak.”

“If it’s a game, I’m in,” Davi said.

“Me as well,” Kenna put in.

“Aye,” Dair added.

“Then it’s settled,” Ned decided.

“You cooked, love,” Kenna noted to Blake. “Davi, Dair and I’ll do the dishes.”

“You relax, Kenna. Dair and I will clean up,” Ned stated.

“Works for me,” Davi agreed.

“For as long as I can remember, Davina urgently had to use the loo every time there was cleanup to be done,” Dair leaned over to tell Blake.

Blake shot him a sweet smile then looked to her father. “Just stack and soak, Dad. I’ll clean up tomorrow. You know I like to putz around like that in the morning.”

Blake Sharp did dishes.

And she liked doing them?

Oh, aye.

Better and better.

“As you wish, darling,” Ned murmured.

They finished dinner.

Everyone helped clear the table, but the men put the food away, stacked and soaked.

They had digestifs and Ned annihilated them at the game.

And it didn’t seem possible after that dinner, but it was true.

Blake’s vanilla cake was the best thing he’d ever tasted.