I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “It didn’t go as planned,” I said, my voice quieter than I wanted.
His eyes flicked up to meet mine, but he didn’t say anything, just waited for me to continue. I tried to keep my tone even as I explained what happened at the restaurant. I left out the part where Luca Caruso wasn’t the man I thought he’d be, because , well....it didn't matter. How he wasn’t even surprised by the situation—just uninterested, like it was all a waste of his time. I also left out the part about how uncomfortable I felt under his gaze, how his words, the way he dismissed me, had hit harder than I’d expected.
“And when I explained I was standing in for Alecia,” I added, “he told me to leave.”
My father didn’t react immediately. He simply leaned back in his chair, his
