I sit back in my chair. “I guess I couldn’t bear the guilt. Every time I saw you and Renn, you looked wrecked. I knew I was the person who caused you all this heartache. And . . . well, I wanted to make it better for you. Every time you guys looked at me, I could see it in your eyes. That I’d caused this pain. I was embarrassed, and humiliated about what I’d done. I thought I was doing you a huge favor by removing myself from the situation.”

“Embarrassed,” he repeats. “You thought we were blaming you?”

“I knew you were.” I shift, tucking my feet under my butt. “It was written plainly on yourselves.”

He closes his eyes, shaking his head. “Yes. No. Maybe. I was very upset. I might’ve looked at you differently, but not because I thought you were guilty, only because I didn’t know what to do with you and your brother, how to comfort you. I didn’t realize at the time that you might notice. I didn’t notice the change myself. I’m sorry.”

“I should be the one apologizing, Dad. And I am. You just followed your heart. I mean, you weren’t wrong. I caused it. All because of a stupid boy.”

Dad takes a sip of his tea. “Was he, though?”

“Was he what?” I ask, confused.

“Stupid. Because when your mom talked to me about it, I remember her saying you were head over heels in love with him. That he was smart and artistic and that he made you laugh. That doesn’t sound very stupid to me.”

I swallow. “No,” I say, finally. “He wasn’t stupid at all. He was great.” The best, really. “I met him in Salem afterward. Not intentionally, of course. A kismet of sorts.”

My dad nods slowly, holding my gaze. “Seph, I assume.”

“How did you know?” My eyes fill with tears. Just thinking about the Graves family makes me want to curl into a ball and cry. I’m also surprised he didn’t say it was Dom. He was the one I was supposed to marry, after all.

Dad dips the tea bag into his mug in a soothing motion. “I saw the way you two were looking at each other when you talked at the church. Under that tree, when you thought no one could see you. The way you were the only thing that mattered to him, and he was the only person on earth to you. There was something very protective about the way he treated you. He reminded me of myself when your mother died. All I wanted to do was shield you and Renn from the world.”

I’m caught red handed. Busted. But I feel oddly relieved to be able to talk about it with someone.

“Well, obviously, I can’t keep in touch with Joe. That would be too messy.”