Page 40 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

Gentry

I glance over at Levi, where he’s standing at the altar next to Brodie. He smiles at me, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. We’ve both been so busy for the last thirty-six hours I’ve barely seen him since I told him I’ve changed my mind and want to give us a try.

After the bachelorette party last night, I fell asleep before he got home. This morning, I had to meet Daphne with the kids to get ready for the wedding, and Levi was still sound asleep when I left.

Worry gnaws at me. Has he changed his mind? Has the last day and a half made him realize how busy I actually am, and it’s more than he wants? Or maybe without me in close proximity, he’s realized all we have is physical attraction?

The bridal march starts, and I turn with everyone else to see Daphne walk down the aisle on her father’s arm. I’m overthinking everything. Levi and I are fine. And it’s Brodie’s day. I need to be focused on him and Daphne.

Daphne looks absolutely beautiful. Her dress is a simple yet elegant white maxi dress, and she’s wearing her hair down, with little white flowers laced through it. Her smile is beaming and so full of love as she keeps her gaze on my brother.

There are actual tears in Brodie’s eyes as he watches his bride walk toward him. It brings tears to my own to see my big brother so moved. As I swing my gaze back to Daphne, I notice someone in the audience, someone who’s not watching the bride-to-be, but who is staring at me.

He gives me one of his familiar, charming smiles, all teeth, and my stomach sinks with dread. What the hell is my father doing here?

Next to him, a woman, who doesn’t look much older than me, puts her hand on his arm and leans into him. She’s watching Daphne like everyone else.

It’s hard to breathe, and the room tilts, but I grit my teeth and hold on. I am not going to cause a scene in the middle of my brother’s wedding. Does Brodie even know Dad is here? He can’t know. He would have warned me.

There’s a part of me, the part of me that’s still a teenager and a little girl who thought her father was the coolest guy in the world, who’s happy to see Dad.

But the adult, rational part of me is so furious a scream builds in my middle.

How dare he leave us without a word and then show up out of the blue at his son’s wedding?

Brodie hates our father. He’d be as angry as I am to know he’s here.

I look over at Levi as Daphne stands next to Brodie, and find him watching me, looking concerned. There’s no way he knows what’s upset me, but he clearly can tell that something has.

I don’t want anyone else to know, and I don’t want to ruin the wedding photos, so I plaster on a smile and focus on the words being said by the priest.

Except I don’t watch my brother and his bride. I keep my gaze locked on Levi, because he feels like the only thing holding me in place, keeping me standing here and not shouting for someone to escort my father from the wedding.

Levi doesn’t let me down. He keeps all his attention on me until I forget about my father.

The words of the priest, of vows and binding and forever, sink into my soul as I stare into Levi’s eyes.

It’s irrational, but I can imagine a future with him, a life shared with this man who’s always been around, but who I’ve never truly seen until now.

Soon, the wedding is over, and I’m following Brodie and Daphne and the wedding party out of the church. I decisively don’t look in my father’s direction. I don’t want to talk to him. I want to pretend he’s not even here.

Levi grabs my hand as we step out of the big barn, where the wedding was held, and into the bright sunlight. “Are you okay?”

“No.” I pull away from him. “I need to talk to Brodie.”

He lets me go, and I hurry over to where Brodie and Daphne are talking to the photographer. I grab Brodie’s arm and yank, but he doesn’t move.

“Brodie,” I say. “I need to talk to you.”

He looks over at me, concern wrinkling his brow, and steps away from the conversation with an “excuse me” to the photographer and Daphne.

“What’s up?” he asks. “Did something happen?”

I pull in a deep breath. I hate my father for putting me in the position of being the one to deliver news that will ruin my brother’s day. “Dad’s here,” I say. “It’s okay. I can run interference and make sure—”

“Gentry,” he says.

“I know. I don’t know how he even found out about the wedding, but I’m not going to let him ruin—”

“Gentry.”

I rub his arm. “I know it’s upsetting, but I can—”

He grips my shoulders and gives me a little shake. “Gentry. I know he’s here. I invited him.”

I stare at him, unable to compute the words. “That’s not… Brodie, you don’t have to cover for him. He shouldn’t be here, but I won’t cause a scene. I’ll just ask him very nicely to leave and, if that doesn’t work, I’ll make sure he never gets near you or Daphne.”

“I’m not covering for him.” Brodie bends his knees just enough so that he’s at my eye level. “I invited him. I want him here.”

I blink, feeling sick. “Why would you want him here? And how did you find him? How long have you been in touch with him?”

“Levi found him,” Brodie says, like I should be impressed by Levi’s skills. Instead, I feel like I’ve stepped into another dimension.

I turn to look for Levi and find him standing right next to me, pale and serious. “You said you weren’t going to invite him,” he says, glaring at Brodie.

Brodie shrugs. “I changed my mind. He is my father, and it is my wedding day.” Even though his tone is sharp, his grin when he says ‘wedding day’ is almost goofy.

“This can’t be happening,” I say. “Because if Levi had found my father and knew he might be coming to this wedding, he would have told me.”

“I wanted—” Levi starts.

As usual, Brodie seems oblivious to the emotional layer here. “I know you’re angry at Dad for leaving, Gent. I’m mad too. But he’s changed. He’s re-married, and he’s got a good job, and he can be a help to you and the kids. He wants to be in our lives again.”

I stare at him, feeling both betrayed and terrified. What if Brodie’s right? I was an adult and in college when Dad walked out on Mom and our sisters, but it still hurt me so much when he left. He dropped out of my life as much as he did theirs.

When Mom started talking badly about him after he left, I was inclined to believe her, because it meant he hadn’t left because he didn’t love me anymore. He left because he wasn’t the great guy I’d once thought he was. It felt better to believe that.

But my own memories match my mother’s stories about my father. Too many of them prove how selfish he can be. “I don’t want anything to do with him. He doesn’t know how to help anyone but himself, and I don’t care how much you think he’s changed, he’s not suddenly become a selfless person.”

Brodie puts his hands on my shoulders, opening his mouth like he’s going to say something, but the photographer calls him over for pictures. He pulls me into a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay. Just let him help.”

He hurries over for pictures, and I’m stuck. I want to get the hell out of here, but I’m not going to ruin Brodie and Daphne’s photos by running away.

“Gentry,” Levi says. “I wanted to tell you, but Brodie thought you’d get your hopes up and be disappointed if your father didn’t show.”

I glare at him. Has he heard anything I’ve said to him?

“I told you how I feel about my father. Or are you like Brodie, and you think I’m just overreacting or remembering the man incorrectly?

” Even as I say the words, doubt creeps in.

My father was never cruel to me. He never beat me, or even yelled at me.

Could he have changed?

Would it be a mistake to keep him away from my sisters?

Levi steps into my space and lowers his voice. “I told Brodie not to invite him to the wedding. I wanted more time to look into him.”

I want to wake up and realize this is all a bad dream so I can lean into him and let him tell me everything’s fine. But it’s not fine. And he’s not the person I thought he was. “You should have told me, Levi. How can I ever trust you again after you kept something this huge from me?”

He takes a step toward me, hands out. “You can trust me. I was going to tell you—”

I hold up a hand. “Just stop. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I need to get through this reception and figure out what to do about my father.”

“I can help you, Gentry.”

I stare at this man I thought was on my side, this man I actually thought I could love, and I’m grateful that I’ve realized who he actually is before I gave him my whole heart. “I don’t want your help, Levi. I want you to stay away from me.”

His expression hardens. “So that’s it? I make one mistake and I’m out?

Why don’t you just admit the truth, Gentry?

You can’t handle anyone who wants to help you, because then you’d have to stop being the martyr, right?

You’d have to think about your own life, and you don’t want to do that, because it’s easier to hide. ”

My heart aches, and I realize, too late, that it was more involved than I’d hoped.

“You don’t know me. If you did, you never would have kept this secret from me.

So maybe you ought to look in the mirror and ask yourself why you had to be the hero, riding in with my father to save the day, instead of asking me what I wanted and being truly on my side? ”

He takes another step back, and it’s like a chasm opens between us. “This is what you always wanted, isn’t it?” he asks. “I was always going to be the villain in your story.”

“Nope. You made that choice all on your own.”

I stomp over to the crowd watching the photographer taking pictures of Brodie and Daphne and wait to be called up for wedding party and family photos. It takes every bit of energy I possess to hold the tears at bay.

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