Forbidden Kisses (3:AM Kisses Book 9) by Addison Moore Page A

million lines, his eyes gloss over, and the pain in them is just as undeniable as it was with Scarlett last night. “She’s happy, though. That’s the most important thing.” His left eye twitches as if calling out the lie. Of course, at the end of the day, it most likely isn’t a lie, but my father and mother were in love. They were the perfect couple until they weren’t. They enjoyed each other. That’s the one truth I know. Then, in a span of six weeks, the news went from bad to worse, and my mother cursed up a storm at my father whom she blamed for taking her down with him. The horror of what came next is exactly the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. She openly declared their marriage a sham, but we all knew she was speaking from her pain—at least that’s what we chose to believe. She hasn’t spoken to him since, outside of a few words regarding my siblings and me.
    “She seems to be content. How about you? You happy about this?” My voice pitches with frustration without meaning to. Our eyes catch on one another as my percolating rage meets up with that forever look of sorrow embedded in him. I wish I could shake him. I wish I could make him tell me exactly at what point he gave up on the woman he once vowed to cherish and decided she wasn’t worth it anymore.
    “I’m not happy about how any of this worked out, and you know it.” His voice is tense, his expression hard, but those watery blue eyes of his show a far more delicate side.
    “Then why are you letting this happen?” I swipe the newspaper off the counter in an adolescent fit of frustration. “ Fuck !” I slam my palm down onto the granite just as Knox and Trixy scuttle in, wrapped in towels, dripping over the hardwood floors until they reach us.
    “What’s happening?” Knox steps between Dad and me as if to contain the situation. I once threw a punch at my father and landed it square on his jaw. He needed x-rays, but thankfully wasn’t hurt. I swore then and there I’d never hit my dad again, but, honest to God, I just came close.
    “Nothing’s happening.” Dad tugs at Trixy’s hair just as she dives over me with a sopping wet hug.
    “Did you talk to Mom? Is she still going through with it?” Her words come out in a childlike wail.
    “Yes. I mean no. I didn’t ask her if she’s really going through with it. You know she is just as much as I do.” I glance over to my father one more time with his tired eyes, that beaten down look on his face, and my chest bucks with emotion. “Are you even going to try to stop her?”
    The three of us look to Maximillian Toberman, a shell of the superhero he once was in our eyes. Once upon a time, our father was infallible. We were wealthy beyond measure, we knew nothing but the best, student loans were something we read about on the Internet, and now here we are living out some bad suburban fantasy, watching in horror as our mother readies to walk down the aisle with another man—watching in horror as she creates a whole new family, and it hurts like hell to witness.
    “Well?” My sister’s voice wobbles as tears burn down her cheeks.
    “No.” His hands clasp together as he tries desperately to force a smile to come and go. “I can no sooner stop her from marrying anyone she pleases than suggest what she might order off a dinner menu. I’m not her husband—and, her choice not mine—I’m no longer considered her friend. Am I thrilled to watch her do this? No. But I’m not about to stop her. If she’s found a shred of happiness, for God’s sake, I want her to steal it. I’m not too impressed with what I’ve done to her. I’m downright ashamed.” He turns his head away a moment. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some things together before heading to the office.” He takes off for the den before turning around. “Don’t be such a stranger, Rex. Nobody is angry with you. I miss you.”
    We watch as he disappears down the hall, and Trixy wraps her arms