“That was highly inappropriate, Casey,” Dad reprimanded. “But I thank God every day it wasn’t me that walked in on them.”
“Poor Kiyah. No wonder we rarely see her,” Kieran mentioned.
The room fell silent for a minute, and the brief look of anguish on our father’s face was another reason I couldn’t bring myself to forgive her. Her absence hurt not only me but everyone who loved her, with Mom taking it the hardest.
“Is Kiyah coming for the wedding?” Casey asked.
“Who knows,” Dad answered. “Back to what I was saying, we’re taking a limo from Kieran’s house to the venue for practice and the rehearsal dinner. I expect everyone to be at the house no later than 4:00 PM. We are leaving promptly at 5:00 PM. The bachelorette party is on Friday. Please do not embarrass our family name by behaving as if you all have not been raised in a loving, well-disciplined, two-parent household. I’m not bailing anyone out—call Burgess. I would prefer you all return home Friday evening so everyone is in one place, but I know how these things can go. We will leave Kieran’s house promptly on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM.”
“You can stop calling it my house, Dad,” Kieran said, sulking like a child.
“We’ll leave Kieran’s house at 11:00 AM, and I want to be walking my daughter down the aisle at 3:00 PM sharp. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” we replied in unison.
“Everyone has their attire, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How about dates?”
My brothers eagerly chimed in about their dates while I avoided Daisy’s smirk. “You have a date, right, Grant?”
“Of course, I have a date.”
“I’m sure we can find a woman from Grandma’s retirement home willing to accompany you.”
“You’re a dickhead, and I hope you get hold of a bad oyster on your honeymoon.”
“Um…from the look on Nori’s face, there definitely won’t be a honeymoon,” Casey mentioned, pointing at the floor-to-ceiling window.
Things were about to go from bad to worse for Daisy, especially because Uncle Ant was accompanying Nori; he did not play when it came to his daughter.
“She brought Uncle Ant,” Daisy seethed as she glared at her fiancée and father-in-law through the window.
“You should’ve answered your phone,” Kieran reflected.
Agreed.
“Dad, you have to go defend my honor,” Daisy insisted.
“I’m on break.”
“Granny,” she whined, turning to me.
“Fuck you,” I said, retrieving my phone. My shoulders tensed when the words “Do Not Answer” appeared.
It’s her, and for every part of me that screams to ignore her call, there is a warring part telling me to answer because I love and miss her.
I left the conference room right as Uncle Ant and Nori bulldozed through the front door.
“Where is she?” Uncle Ant demanded.
“Conference room,” I mumbled as I approached my office. I closed the door behind me and answered on the final ring. I didn’t say a word, but I knew she could hear my harsh breathing over the line.
“Hello, Grant.”
Chapter Two