Page 292 of By His Vow

“Hmm,” he rumbles, ripping his eyes from mine and glancing at the paperwork on my desk.

He doesn’t react to it, not that I expected him to. He’s got what he wanted out of this arrangement. The only person who is losing anything here is Tatum.

If I sign this, then everything she’s ever wanted is going to be taken away from her.

She’s going to be taken away from me.

I suck in a ragged breath, unable to properly process what all this means.

Tatum isn’t the only one losing here. I feel like everything I’ve ever cared about is slipping through my fingers like grains of sand.

I watch as he walks around my desk and lowers himself into the same chair that Kian was sitting in earlier. And then he just watches me. I’m not saying a word, but I’m pretty sure he can read my thoughts well enough to know exactly what’s going on.

“I’m not the enemy here, Kingston. You can talk to me about this.”

Can I?

Isn’t he just going to tell me that I’m better off without her, that I’ve been stupid to let her in and give her even a chance at being able to break my heart?

“Dad, I?—”

“Love her,” he finishes for me.

“Fuck, that’s not?—”

“Kingston, lying to yourself isn’t going to help right now,” he warns, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes focused on mine.

I slump lower.

“This wasn’t how all of this was meant to go,” I mutter as I scrub my hand over my rough jaw.

“No,” Dad agrees helpfully. “But sometimes, you’ve just got to embrace these things.”

My brows pinch together in a mix of confusion and shock.

“What?”

He smiles at me and shakes his head.

“Why aren’t you telling me that I fucked up? That I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done and lost focus on business because of it?”

He shrugs one shoulder but doesn’t say anything for long seconds, which only makes my head spin faster.

“King,” he finally says before gritting his teeth and lowering his gaze for a beat, composing himself. “I know I haven’t exactly been the best role model when it comes to women and relationships, but?—”

I scoff, thinking of the many, many women who have come in and out of our lives over the years.

“And I know I’ve told you that you shouldn’t fall in love, that it only ends in pain but?—”

“But?” I balk, laughing, although it’s edged with bitterness. All our lives he’s been adamant that we never fall in love.

“King, I loved your mother,” he says, his eyes getting glassy as he thinks of her. “I loved her so much. I’m not saying that I was the perfect husband. I’m aware that I was far from that. But what she did, fuck. It still hurts to this day.

“But if I’m being honest, even if I knew how it was all going to end, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. My years with her, you three…I could never, ever regret that.”

“But you?—”

“I know, King. I know. But you and Tatum.” He sighs, shaking his head. “The way you look at her. It’s so fucking familiar it hurts, King.