Chapter 33

As people shuffled in and out of the café, I stared down at my phone. Noon had come and gone, and it was nearing twelve-thirty. Either he was blowing me off, or he was making me wait the way I would've made him wait if it had been the other way around and he'd asked to see me in a public place.

The bell on the door jingled and my father finally strode inside pulling his sunglasses off his face. Many heads turned because that's what happened when Marty Richmond entered a building. Men whispered to their friends, and woman took photos on their phones.

He stepped up to my table, but I stayed where I was. He slipped into the seat across from me. "I'm surprised you wanted to meet me here."

"I needed witnesses in case you planned to lay another hand on me."

He huffed his frustration with me. "That was a mistake."

"Oh, good to see you're finally acknowledging your mistakes."

"When's this gonna end, Peyton?"

"When's what gonna end?"

He glanced around the café, likely making sure none of his adoring fans could hear our less-than-amicable conversation. "This animosity you've got toward me?"

I gave the obligatory moment to appear as if I was actually considering his question. "Probably never."

"Good to know." He grasped the arms of the chair, preparing to stand up. "Are we done then?"

"We deserved better. Mom and me. We held down the fort while you were off playing baseball, and you repaid us by cheating and having two other children—at least two that we know of."

He stayed in his seat but leaned in angrily. "I gave you the best of everything. I think you're forgetting that."

"All I ever wanted was to be loved. And to know the person who loved me—who brought me into this world—loved me and my family more than cheap nights with baseball whores."

He stared at me like I was someone he didn't even know. Had my words meant nothing?

"Have you ever even reached out to your other daughter?" I asked.

"Why would I?"

"Because she's an innocent bystander in all of this. So is Crew."

He balked.

"Are you gonna pretend he's not yours either? Or, because he's gonna be a big baseball star, do you now want him?"

"Watch it Peyton. I'm still your father."

"And Crew's the guy I fell in love with," I blurted.

His head cocked to the side. "Come again?"

"We were together this summer."

"Jesus Christ," he reproached. "What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? That's classic coming from you."

He shook his head as if he wasn't the cause of all of this.

"How would I ever know my father cheated on my mother with yet another woman and had yet another kid—oh, and this time the kid would end up living in my house? And, he'd end up being my age and athletic and charming and someone I fell for?"

"You're not to see him again," he ordered.

"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I feel sick over what happened?"

The look of disgust on his face rubbed me the wrong way. I needed him to understand how his selfishness affected everyone around him. "I still love him. Imagine having to figure out what to do with those feelings. It's awesome."

He dragged in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "I paid her a lot of money. I never could've imagined she would have kept the money and the kid." He shook his head as if disgusted by Crew's mother when he was the one who was disgusting. "I'm not even convinced he's mine," he said offhandedly.

A piercing sound rang out in my ears. "What?"

"She slept with a lot of players. Women like her are always looking for a payday and will do and say anything to get one. At the time, it was just easier to pay her to leave me alone."

"Are you saying you never asked for proof?"

"Why would I? I thought she was getting rid of it," he countered.

I couldn't believe my ears. "How about when she showed up at the beach house? You didn't think to ask for a DNA test then?"

"I just wanted her gone."

I closed my eyes and pressed my palms to my forehead. "Jesus Christ."

"Look, I had no idea you and Crew even—"

"I need you to take a paternity test," I said, my head spinning with the possibilities. But I wouldn't give myself false hope. I couldn't afford to. I jumped up. "We're getting the test right now."