The Doctor's Secret Bride(78)

“We’ve become very close, and he wants to meet my family.”

“Sounds serious.”

She dropped her gaze.

He put his hand under her chin, raising her face. “So it is. Are you in love with him?”

She so wished she could tell Robert everything. But Erik was right. It was best they kept their marriage a secret, especially for Precious’ sake. They had to consider the psychological and emotional impact it might have on her. “Yes, I love him.” That much she could share.

“Then my only question is, does he deserve you?”

“You’ll get your chance to judge him. See if he’s good enough for your little sister.”

“In my eyes, nobody would ever be good enough for you, Michelle. And if Dr. Erik LaCrosse can’t see what a terrific woman you are, I would be very happy to tell him what a dumb turkey I think he is, right to his face.”

Michelle laughed with a mixture of warm emotions. Robert used to warn the boys in their neighborhood to stay away from her, or else. Because of him, she’d managed to hold on to her virginity until she was old enough and ready to give it up. She wished she’d waited for Erik instead of wasting it on Ryan who couldn’t even appreciate the priceless gift she’d given him.

But there wasn’t one shred of comparison between Erik and the men in her old neighborhood, nor her father. Erik would never hurt her intentionally. She was the dishonest one here. If Erik found out about her father, he might want nothing more to do with her. She was certain of it. He might fire her—contract or not—annul their secret marriage, and worst, cut off her relationship with Precious.

That last reality brought her back to the reason she had been lying in wait for Robert. She wasn’t a little girl anymore and Robert didn’t need to protect her—except from herself—but she would ask him to do her one last favor.

Michelle took a deep breath of the warm, late-summer afternoon air. “Robert, before we go inside, I need to ask a favor of you.”

“Anything for you, little sister.”

“I told Erik that Daddy is dead.”

Robert slumped against the car and let out a mild swear. “Why did you do a stupid thing like that, girl?”

“At the time, I thought it was the best thing to do. Now I’m not so sure. But I can’t change my story. Not yet.”

“Lying to him, Mich? How could that be for the best?”

Michelle saw the disillusionment in her brother’s eyes. She had looked up to Robert her whole life. He had always been her hero. He’d taught her the good principles of life that had kept her honest and out of trouble. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint him. “Because it was a drunk who killed his wife,” she said in defense. “I’m ashamed of him. I hate him for what he did to us.”

Robert wiped his hands down his face. “Oh, Michelle, I hate the bastard, too, especially for stealing from you and nearly destroying your life. But I don’t go around telling people he’s dead. I’m proud of the man I’ve become. It doesn’t matter who or what my father is. He can’t take my pride or my dignity away from me.”#p#分页标题#e#

Michelle sighed. Robert was right, but she knew how passionately Erik felt about drunks. They were all suspects, and he would keep on believing that until the one who ran his wife down was brought to justice. “I just know I can’t tell him about our father.”

Robert placed a hand on her shoulder. “What does Daddy have to do with it, Mich?” he asked in a big brotherly tone. “He didn’t run down Erik’s wife, and even if he did, Erik wouldn’t hold it against you, I’m sure. You don’t lie to people you love. You can’t build a relationship on deception. What do you think will happen when he finds out you’ve been lying to him all this time?”

“He isn’t going to find out,” Michelle said adamantly. “Not as long as Daddy stays wherever he is. And if he does come back, I hope Erik would have grown to love me enough by then to understand why I lied to him.”

Robert shrugged as he pushed off his car. “I don’t know, Mich. Seems to me you are setting yourself up for a lot of grief. I don’t think Erik would care if your father were Charles Manson as long as you were truthful with him. When he finds out that you deceived him, it will destroy any trust or faith he may have had in you. You’re taking a big chance, little sister.”

That was a chance Michelle was willing to take, because if she came clean now, she was sure the end results would be the same. She had already lied.