Page 26 of Mile High Baby

He waved his hand as he swallowed his food. "I get it. You've got your own life. And I'm truly sorry to have inconvenienced you like this. But now that Alex and Saint Security are involved, I'm feeling more confident that George will be dealt with."

I took a sip of my water and studied my father. I wondered if he really believed what he was saying or if he was just trying to prevent me from worrying. "I hope you're right."

Knightly appeared, refilling our water glasses, and then disappeared into the kitchen again.

"How did you and Alex get to be friends, anyway?" I hoped my question sounded very nonchalant. It wasn't unreasonable for me to want to know about my father's friend, particularly since he was charged with protecting me, right? My question didn't reveal the dirty deeds I’d done on the airplane.

My father had a wistful smile as he held his wine glass, swirling the red liquid inside it. "Alex was my roommate in college." He didn't say more, but there was something in his expression that told me that he was going through a flood of memories of him as a young man with Alex.

My father had always seemed happy and he’d given me a good life, but sometimes, I wondered if he regretted becoming a father at such a young age. He was so young when I was born. He missed many years of sowing his oats. Not that my father never dated, because he did, but he was never in a long-term relationship with a woman. He never spoke ill of my mother to me, but I always wondered if whatever had happened between them was why he'd never married again. I couldn’t imagine what that was since it seemed pretty clear I’d been the result of a short-term hookup.

Thinking of my father as a young man with Alex made me curious. "Did Alex know my mom?"

My father's brows rose in surprise. "No. Why would you ask that?"

I shrugged. "He knew you back when you were in college, and I figured that was when you met Mom."

"By the time I met your mom, Alex had left to join the military. Had he been there, things might've been... Well..."

I frowned, wondering what he wasn't telling me. "What?"

My father sipped his wine and then let out a sigh. "Had Alex been there, I probably wouldn’t have been with your mother. But had I not met your mother, I wouldn’t have you." He reached his hand out again, putting it over mine. "I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy father, but you're the treasure of my life."

I smiled, turning my hand over to embrace his. "I love you too, Dad. But don't you ever wish you met someone else? You could have gotten married, maybe even had more kids. In fact, it's not too late. You're not too old."

He laughed. "Not too old. Thank you for that." He shook his head, his eyes casting downward to his plate, and for a moment, I thought I saw sadness cross his expression. "I just never met anyone with which that could happen."

I frowned because it seemed such an odd way to say he hadn’t met a woman he felt he could marry. Had there been a woman, but for some reason they couldn’t be together? I hoped that wasn't true because I wanted my father to be happy.

"Has Alex ever been married?" I held my breath for the answer and then chastised myself for caring.

My father laughed. "No. But Alex hasn't lived a life that's conducive to marriage and family." My father cocked his head and his eyes narrowed slightly. “I get the feeling you don't like Alex very much. Is everything all right?"

This time, I was the one who broke eye contact and looked down into my dinner. "Yeah, sure. He's just... gruff, I guess."

"Yes, Alex is a little rough around the edges. You’d think he grew up on the mean streets of New York, but in fact, he's Tate Sterling’s kid."

I looked up at him in surprise, although maybe I should've put two and two together. Sterling wasn’t that common a name. "But he's not doing the family business?"

My father shook his head. "Alex has too much need for adventure and excitement to lead a corporate life. Tate disowned him when he decided to pursue his dream."

As much as I was irritated at Alex, I was sad to hear that his father had disowned him simply for following his dream.

"You're not going to disown me for not taking over the family business, are you?" I asked jokingly.

"There's nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you or want to disown you. Am I disappointed that you won't be following my footsteps? Maybe. But I am so proud of what you've done on your own, Tori. You've achieved much more than I ever did. I stepped into an already successful business. You've built yours from scratch."

I smiled with pride, loving that my father recognized my achievements.

Still, I sometimes felt guilty that I wasn't working with my father and planning to take over the company as I knew that was what would have made him the happiest.

"I know we've had a bit of an unconventional life, Tori, but I hope that you're happy."

"I am, Dad. I've had a wonderful life, unconventional or not." I thought of Samantha, who grew up in the traditional two-parent family, but I knew it had always been a contentious one. And now her mother was sick and her father had run off. "I told you I saw Samantha this morning, didn’t I?"

My father blinked. I guess the change of subject caught him off guard. He gave a curt nod and went back to cutting his steak. "You did. How is she doing?"

“I don't really know, actually. Probably not very well. It sounds like her mom is really sick."