confused.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to my dad. “I can’t.”
His jaw tightens. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t walk down this aisle pretending I’m whole when the man who raised me is watching from the shadows.”
I step back and remove my arm from his. A few gasps ripple through the room as I lift the hem of my gown and turn around.
Tim is already halfway out the
door, shoulders hunched, trying not to be noticed. He doesn’t see me coming until I reach the back of the church and call his name.
“Tim!”
He stops, slowly turning. His eyes are glassy.
“What are you doing?” I ask. “Why were you leaving?”
He smiles softly. “Because that was the deal, sweetheart. I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“I never agreed to that deal,
