“You don’t have to apologize, honey. But do me a favor, would you? Maybe share that part of the story with your new boyfriend. It might keep him in line in the future.”

She crossed her arms. “Maybe you should tell him yourself since you’ve talked to him more recently than I have.” She raised a brow, daring him to deny it.

Her dad winced. “He may have stopped by the shop this morning. How did you know?”

“I didn’t. I guessed,” she said with a wide smile. “It wasn’t like it was hard to figure out. Never in your life have you ever defended—even in the slightest way—any guy that had hurt me. You just wanted to maim them.”

“I’m not defending Adam,” her dad said, holding up his hands. “In fact, I’m happy to go find him and kick the crap out of him for hurting you if that’s what you’d like me to do. But I have a feeling that it’s not what you want.”

“Then what is it that I want?”

He smiled. “That’s simple. You want Adam. Because you’re in love with him.”

“I…I didn’t say that.”

Her dad shrugged. “Didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes.”

“No, that’s anger.”

“Yes, it is. And pain. But only a man you love could hurt you that much. I should know. I married the only woman who ever held that much power over me. Your mother.”

She sighed. “That’s different. The two of you were both deeply in love with each other. That isn’t the case with us. Yes, I fell in love with Adam, but he…doesn’t love me back.”

“Yes, he does.”

“How do you know? You barely know Adam.”

Her dad smiled. “Just trust me, okay? The guy is definitely in love with you.”

Preslee did something to her father that she hadn’t done since she was a teenager. She rolled her eyes at him. “Well, it doesn’t really matter anymore. Even if Adam is in love with me—which I highly doubt—I’m not ready to face him, much less forgive him. I’m still hurt by what he did. Whether he meant to humiliate me or not, he did so in the worst way possible, and I need some time to figure things out in my head. Only then will I deal with him.”

Her father grinned. “I knew you’d say that. Even as a child, you were never quick to forgive. That’s why I told Adam to give you some time when I saw him this morning.”

“You did?”

“Yep. And he said he would…because you are worth waiting for.”

Her throat swelled, and she swallowed the knot forming. “He said that? Really?”

Her dad nodded. “I have no doubt he meant every word.”