A finger against his lips, he turns and heads toward the kitchen and expects me to follow him.
Two med students are sprawled across the living room. One on the couch with a textbook open on his chest, the other cross-legged on the floor with a laptop. They both look up when I walk in.
I smile, give a wave like this is no big deal, and keep moving. Rounding the corner into the kitchen, I breathe in the scent of coffee.
“I was hoping you’d show up,” Dad says, his arms folded across his chest.
I swallow, forcing my voice to be steady. “We didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday. Just you and me.”
“Is Dr. O’Rourke really going to cover your tuition and expenses through your residency?”
“You can call him Cormac. He’s your son-in-law.” I sit and run a hand through my messy hair. “That’s what he said.”
“Did he put it in writing?”
I think about that. He’s admitted to having a lot of money. He’s connected to the mob, but I don’t see themputting forced marriage contracts in writing. “I trust him.”
“Have you slept with him already?” Dad asks through gritted teeth, peering down at me.
Shit…
“We had a one-night stand, like he said yesterday. We met in August. It was the night Pierce and I broke up. I was wandering around in the rain. Cormac brought me to a hotel, paid for a room, and intended to leave. I asked him to stay and?—”
“I don’t need the particulars.” My father’s jaw unhinges.
It’s got to be hard for a man to hear his daughter wanted a man to fuck her.
“And since then?”
I purse my lips and lie because now Cormac is his employee and my professor.
“No. The marriage is for convenience.” I cross my fingers behind my back.
He stares at me for a few minutes. I suspect a dad doesn’t know what to say to that laundry list of things a daughter doesn’t usually say to a father.
“Scarlett, you’re an adult. I trust your judgment. Dr. O’Rourke is a good man. Comes from a solid family. I should be thrilled.”
“But you’re not.”
“Hecorneredyou,” he says, trying not to flinch. “He took advantage of your situation with Pierce.”
“I look at it differently.” I swallow. “He’s saving my education.”
“You care about him,” Dad says, studying me.
“What’s not to care about? He’s a good man. And who knows what will happen.”
“Scarlett, you and Cormac cannot separate.”
My blood goes cold. “Never?”
“A divorce would be immediate grounds for Cormac’s dismissal. Fraud. Breach of contract.”
My heart stops. Cormac is under the impression that once he gets his full-time contract, he can let me go. But it sounds like he’s got to make some blood oath to stay with me. Forever.
Should I pull on this thread? This entire situation is spiraling far beyond my control.
I stare at my bare hands. “He read his contract. He’s aware.”