Twenty minutes later, Doug led Chloe to the waiting room. “You worried about what your parents will say?” he asked.
She looked over, her brow creasing. “I wasn’t until you said something. I don’t know what to expect. Beginning to wonder if I had Dad and Danielle all wrong.”
“That’s a good thing, right? Maybe the root of the problem is one person. That means you don’t have to cut out most of your family.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Only one way to find out.”
They found her parents and Danielle sitting in the private waiting room. Her mother’s gaze raked over Doug in disgust.
He gave her a pleasant smile and watched her squirm. The woman had always been too caught up in what everyone else thought, and half the time she got it wrong.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Mae. Sorry about the circumstances.”
Chloe gave him a peculiar smile. He’d already told her he was hired by her father. What exactly the man knew about their past was another question. Chloe had never come up between them.
Her father grinned. “I didn’t realize you know my daughter. Maybe you can convince Chloe to come to the Stars of Our Future fundraiser.”
Doug glanced over and found her smile radiant.
“He already asked, and I accepted.”
“The benefit is for Children’s Hospital. Seems fitting their newest up-and-coming doctor be there.”
“I don’t know about all that. I’m not starting for two weeks.”
“Ah, but you’ll do amazing. You always do. I’m so proud of you.”
Mrs. Mae smiled tightly. “Yes. Pierce is going to be so disappointed you won’t go with him.”
Chloe visibly flinched. Her mouth pursed as she stared back. “Mother, I haven’t seen Pierce in over four years, and last I heard, he was engaged. I have no idea why you think I would consider going with him.”
Her father’s brow went up. “I always wondered what happened to him. Did he not treat you well?”
Chloe huffed, her attention switching back. “No. We tried to make things work, on and off from high school to my senior year of college. I caught him sleeping with my roommate, and left him.”
Mr. Mae turned to his wife. “You knew this, and you were still trying to get them back together?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Of course. He made a foolish mistake. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” His voice was cold. “Clearly Chloe is better off without him. Her roommate? That’s low.”
Doug wanted to give him a high-five.
“And a musician is going to treat our daughter better?”
Mr. Mae’s mouth dropped open. “Mr. Walsh is a successful businessman, an upstanding and inspiring member of the community, and quite talented. I’ve met with Mr. Walsh on numerous occasions and he has his head on straighter than Pierce ever did.”
Chloe touched Doug’s face, pulling his attention to her. “Don’t worry. Nothing she says can hurt me. I know you. She doesn’t.”
He couldn’t resist a smile. “That’s all that matters.”
“I’ll be in Daniel’s room.” Mrs. Mae sneered before storming off.
Mr. Mae sighed. “I’m truly sorry about her outburst. It often seems she’s more worried about her social standing than her own family.”
Doug shrugged. “I’m only worried about Chloe.”
“And that makes me a happy man. May I have a moment alone with my daughter? I won’t keep her long.”
“Of course.” Doug turned to Chloe. “I’ll be in the waiting room out there.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips before leaving.
“I’ll come too.” Danielle said, following him.
Once the doors closed, Danielle turned to him with a sad smile. “So, you’re the boy who stole Chloe’s heart all those years ago?”
He swallowed his snarky first response of Unsuccessfully. Instead he shrugged. “I suppose so. Took a few years for things to settle out, but I’m not letting her go.”
“Seems to be exactly what she needs. Now, if Mom could get her head out of her ass and accept we all have our own lives, it would be great.”
Doug sighed. “We can hope.” He didn’t think that was very likely though. And it didn’t sound as if Danielle or her father had made much effort to keep track of Chloe.
* * * *
Dad took her shoulders in his hands. “Have I mentioned how proud of you I am?”
Nodding, she smiled. “You did. Thank you.”
“Why didn’t I know about your graduation until after the fact?”
She drew a slow breath. You never called. Yeah, he was a busy senator, but it still hurt to know he never picked up the phone. Not that she had either. Like father, like daughter.
“Did your mother know and not give me the invite?”
“I didn’t bother sending invitations to anyone but Daniel, and I begged him not to make a fuss over it to you all. I haven’t even called for four years. You’re always busy. Mom hates that I switched majors. So I stopped taking her calls.”
He frowned. “Forget Mom. It’s not her life, it’s yours. Besides, I can’t see you as a lawyer. Though I have no doubt you’d excel at anything. Being a doctor fits you.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch.”
“Me too.”
She managed a lame shrug. He was no more guilty than she was.
He squeezed her shoulder. “What happened? I want to understand.”
She looked around, and after confirming they were still alone, she explained, “About a week before Pierce and I received our degrees, I found him in bed with my roommate. Mom tried to blame me. Told me to take him back and forget school because if I wasn’t going to be a lawyer, I may as well be a housewife.”
“I would never, in a million years, tell you to stay with a man who cheated on you. Nor would I blame you for his poor decision. I never liked the scoundrel anyway.”
A surprised laugh escaped. Then a hesitant smile curved her lips. “I’m sorry. I guess I should have called you directly, but I assumed you two were a united front. Instead of dealing with it, I threw myself into school.”
“You did nothing wrong, Chloe. I wish I’d known. I would have straightened it out. Clearly, I need to pay more attention to my children. She never approved of Daniel’s choice in Xavier, but I thought that was religious reasons or something. I’ve been such a fool.”
In a twisted way, she understood Mom was doing what she thought best for her husband. Chloe sighed. “No. I think Mom’s looking out for you, but maybe she doesn’t understand what you really need is a woman who supports you and your beliefs, not what she thinks the people want from you.” Didn’t make her any less angry about the whole situation.
“You’re right. Hey, after Daniel gets out of the hospital, you and Doug should have lunch with Daniel, Xavier, and me. I want to catch up. Right now, your brother needs me.”
She hugged her father again, kissing his bristled cheek. “Definitely. Love you.”
“Love you more. I can hardly wait for our lunch date.”
Grinning, she walked backwards toward the door. “Neither can I. See you soon.”
“Until then.” Dad went back toward her brother’s room.
Chloe found Doug and Danielle discussing music.
Danielle smirked. “I see the appeal.” She winked before slipping through the door.
“Seems everyone but my mother loves you. I feel like a jerk.”
“Don’t. I’m over it. As long as she doesn’t sway you again, I’ll be fine.”
“You hungry?”
His eyes travelled down and back up her body. “Very.”
She smacked his chest. “I meant for food. Though later, I’ll let you have your fill.”
He waggled his brows. “Fuel for later.”