Stuck-Up Suit
My stomach sank. He’d asked her to marry him?
“Right. Of course. Yes. I’m with that Graham Morgan. And you are?”
“Helen Frost. I’m a neighbor of Genevieve and Liam’s. I sometimes babysit Chloe.”
“That’s their daughter?”
“Yes. She’s four. Beautiful, dark hair, unlike her parents.”
“Well, that happens sometimes.” I shrugged.
Before our conversation could continue, my attention shifted toward the sight of Graham wading through the crowd toward me. He was staring blankly ahead, looking completely dazed. This whole experience was apparently even tougher on him than I thought.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded silently, but my gut told me that something was terribly wrong.
It was finally our turn to kneel at Liam’s casket and offer a prayer. Clasping my hands together, I closed my eyes and said one Our Father and one Hail Mary. My heart dropped when I heard the words that came out of Graham’s mouth.
“You bastard,” he whispered under his breath. His eyes were watery, but he didn’t full-on cry. His lower lip trembled. I just continued to look at him, confused at his sudden anger. We both stood up in unison, slowly heading toward the not-so-grieving widow. Genevieve looked strangely okay for someone who’d just lost her husband.
Her eyes seemed to brighten when she saw Graham. His body was stiff as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
You bitch.
“Thank you so much for coming, Graham.”
Graham just stood there, staring at her.
Had he gone mute from shock?
She went on, “I appreciate it more than you know. I’ll see you Friday for our meeting.”
Meeting?
She was going to see him?
We were holding up the line, and he hadn’t even introduced me. She finally peeled her eyes away from him long enough to notice me standing to his right.
She flashed a fake smile. “Who are you?”
“I’m Soraya…Graham’s…” I hesitated.
He finally spoke. “Girlfriend,” he said firmly as he placed his arm around my waist.
“Girlfriend…” she repeated.
Graham tightened his hold on me. “Yes.”
“Avery told me you were seeing someone new, but I didn’t realize it was serious.”
“It is. Very serious.”
Well, okay then. Good to know.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Soraya.”
“Likewise. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
And by that I mean…Graham.
Graham was giving her what looked like a death stare.
What the hell was going on? Why was he so angry all of a sudden?
He abruptly moved along to the next family member in line. We mechanically shook hands with every person in the lineup before reaching the end.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I said, “Well, that was painful. What do we do now?”
He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. “Soraya…”
“What? Graham, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
“I can’t right now. I’ll lose it on someone. And it’s not the right time nor place.”
It wasn’t long before I got the answer to my question when all eyes in the room turned to a beautiful, dark-haired little girl appearing at Liam’s coffin. Chloe. She’d been MIA all night. I’d assumed Liam and Genevieve’s daughter was kept away intentionally. I didn’t think she was here at all.
The crowd seemed to still upon the heartbreaking sight of the girl weeping over her father’s body. It made me feel guilty because my father was still alive, and I chose to have nothing to do with him. Hers was dead, and she would never have the option to see him again.
“That’s so sad,” I whispered to Graham.
He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.
Almost at the same moment, Chloe turned around, allowing me the first look at her face. I literally gasped. Out loud. The wheels in my head started turning. When I looked over at him, he was staring at her with a look of disbelief.
“Had you never seen her before, Graham?”
His eyes were still planted on her when he shook his head and simply said, “No.”
Suddenly, Graham’s strange behavior made total sense. Because this little girl looked just like her father.
Her father, Graham.
There was no doubt in my mind. Graham was Chloe’s biological father. My mind was racing. How could this have happened? How could they have not told him? Was it even possible that this could have been a coincidence? That she looked just like Graham, even though she was Liam’s? In my heart, I knew the answer. Suddenly, I didn’t know if I wanted to cry or punch someone out.