Shaking his head in anger, Beckett reached back and began rubbing the tense muscles in his neck.God,he wanted to beat Phillip Mitchell’s ass. He would have thought Evie would want that, too.
But instead…
“What my fath…” she started, quickly correcting her mistake. “WhatPhillipdid is unforgivable.”
“Which part?” he scoffed.
A sad smile lifted her ruby red lips as she let her hand fall back to her side.
“All of it,” Evie answered softly. “And trust me, if you’d shown up here a couple of hours ago, you would have found me in a puddle of tears. But once I got past the initial shock and overwhelming feelings of consternation and betrayal, I realized…it finally makes sense.”
The pain and rejection reflected in her glossy eyes tore at his very soul. But there was also a sliver of peace there. One Beckett hadn’t seen there before.
“What makes sense, sweetheart?”
“I’ve spent my entire life trying desperately to gain my father’s love and affection. But no matter what I did, no matter what I accomplished, it was never good enough.Iwas never good enough.” That sad smile of hers returned. “I got into three different Ivy League schools, you know? But even then, either my scores weren’t high enough or the comments from my essays and interviews weren’t positive enough. That’s when it finally hit me...it didn’t matter what I did, it would never be enough. I was never going to be good enough.”
“That’s when you decided to go into teaching,” he surmised.
Evie nodded. “And when I decided to follow my passion and teach in the public school system, rather than some hoity-toity private school run by politics and money, rather than the best interest of its students.”
“I’m happy as hell that you followed your dreams, but that doesn’t make me want to kick his ass any less.”
Her expression softened as she reached up, cupping one side of his rugged cheek. “No one understands that desire more than me. But don’t you see? This is actually agoodthing.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Phillip didn’t spend my childhood treating me like I was a thorn in his side because of anything I did or didn’t do. And it wouldn’t have mattered what I did or where I worked or what country I chose to travel to. Nothing I ever do will make him love me because I’m not his.”
Understanding finally began to sink in. “You’re glad he’s not your biological father because that means his disdain had nothing to do with you.”
“Exactly!” Genuine relief shone behind her hazel gaze. “I’ve spent my entire life thinking I was a constant failure in that man’s eyes, when the truth is, he’llneverbe able to love me because I’m?—”
“Another man’s child.”
She nodded again. “Does it hurt to know he’d just as soon see me dead than claim me as his own? Of course, it does.” A fresh set of unshed tears filled her round eyes. “But the way I see it, I have one of two choices. I could sit around mourning the loss of a man who’s done nothing but ridicule and lie to me, or I can see the situation for what it really is.”
“And what is it?”
“A chance to start over. To sever all ties without a stitch of guilt or obligation and live my life without fear of condescending lectures or rants designed to point out my many failures and disappointments.” Evie’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “I love that you want to defend my honor, Beckett?—”
“I can’t stand that he hurt you.”
“—but as much as I’d love to see you knock him on his pretentious ass, the fact that I’m not Phillip Mitchell’s biological daughter means I’m finallyfree.I can do what I want…” She inched her body closer to his. “With whomever I want. And there’s not a damn thing Phillip Mitchell can do about it.”
Beckett’s dick grew hard, and his heart felt like it would pound straight out of his chest. Unless he was reading Evie allwrong, the sexy brunette was coming on to him. And while he wanted nothing more than to strip her down and finally take what he’d been craving, his need to protect her—even from himself—was even stronger than his desire.
“I want you, darlin’,” he stated bluntly. “More than I’ve ever wanted anyone else.”
“But?”
Cradling her beautiful face with both his hands, Beckett held her stare and told her the truth. “You’ve had one helluva day,” he rumbled low. “The very last thing I’d ever want to do is take advantage of you or your situation.”
“And they say chivalry is dead,” Evie teased, her tempting breasts pressing against his chest. “Lucky for you, there’s nothing to take advantage of.”
“Evie…”
“I’m serious, Beckett. Have I had an emotional day? Sure. Will I still have moments of sadness or heartache along the way? Of course, I will. But am I such an emotional mess I can’t make thoughtful, rational decisions?” The curls gathered on top of her head swayed back and forth with a slow shake of her head. “I know exactly what I’m doing…” She lifted onto her tiptoes and feathered her lips along his. “And I know exactly who I’m doing it with.”