Oberon’s POV
“Damn it!” I cursed aloud, though I hadn’t meant to.
I had just watched my daughter flee from the house-away from her mate-and it shattered me. But if I was being honest, I couldn’t say I was entirely surprised. Dahlia, for all her kindness, compassion, and intelligence, was also as stubborn as they came. Once she set her mind to something, there was no moving her. Just like her mother.
We’d never had an outright conversation about her feelings on the mate bond, but I didn’t need one. I saw it in the way she held herself, in the offhand comments she made whenever a friend or patient found their mate.
“Isolde keeps saying she wishes she’d meet her mate, but honestly? I think she’s lucky it hasn’t happened yet.”
“So-and-so found her mate and swears she’s never been happier. If you ask me, that’s just another broken heart waiting to happen.”
She never said it outright, but her opinion was clear-she didn’t trust the mate bond. And as much as I hated to admit it, I knew I was partly to blame for that. I had let my own grief color her perception of what it meant to be mated. But I wasn’t about to let her throw away something so sacred. Not if I could help it.
I would have that conversation with her soon, but for now, I had another issue to deal with-her mate, who stood in my hallway looking utterly lost. Great. As if this day wasn’t difficult enough, now I had to console the poor bastard who had been shamelessly ogling my half-naked daughter just minutes ago.
I sighed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, don’t look so hopeless. I warned you my daughter wouldn’t make this easy.”
Liam attempted a chuckle, but it sounded more like a pained exhale. “Yeah, you did.”
“Let’s sit down, have another drink, and come up with a plan,” I suggested.
He nodded, offering a weak smile before following me back into the sitting room. I poured us both another glass of whiskey, shaking my head at how much of the stuff we’d already gone through today. More than I usually drank in a week.
Liam sat across from me, his expression full of expectation-waiting for me to say something profound, to impart some life-changing wisdom that would magically fix this mess. I wished I had something like that to give. I didn’t. But I would offer him the best advice I had.
“Look, she didn’t reject you outright,” I pointed out. “If I know my daughter-and I do-she won’t find it easy to do.”
His brow furrowed in doubt. “What makes you so sure? She didn’t seem to have a hard time running out on me just now.”
I understood his frustration, but he didn’t know her like I did. “Because as much as she fears the past, she also remembers what it felt like to be loved. And I know, deep down, she still wants that for herself. She just needs time-to trust that you won’t hurt her like Finnian did.”
I saw the flicker of hope in his eyes as my words sank in.
“But how do I convince her to give me that time if she won’t even stay in the same room as me?” He looked lost again.
I smirked. “I have a couple of ideas.”
Liam raised a skeptical brow. “Really? Because I got the impression Lia doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
I chuckled. “That’s usually true. But I’m not above a little well-intended manipulation.”
His expression turned wary. “Uh-huh…”
“First, you’re going to the Winslows’ house to offer to walk her home,” I said. “And by ‘offer,’ I mean insist.”
His mouth parted slightly, as if he wanted to argue, but he shut it just as fast.
“Meanwhile, I’m going to have a long-overdue conversation with my daughter,” I continued. “I’ve let her dwell on her mother’s loss for too long-focused on the pain instead of the privilege it was to have her in our lives, even for a short time. She needs to understand that.”
Liam still looked uncertain. “What exactly are you planning to say?”
I smirked. “That she needs a break. She’s been working herself to the bone, pouring everything into her job to avoid dealing with the rest of her life. She needs time to relax. And if she can do that while getting to know you? Even better.”
His brows knit together. “That’s all well and good, but it still doesn’t solve the problem of her refusing to be around me.”
I waved off his concern. “If I can convince her to take a break, how would you feel about inviting her to your packhouse for a week or two?”
Liam’s whole face lit up. “That would be amazing. I’d love for her to see my home, meet my family.” Then his excitement wavered slightly. “But do you really think you can get her to agree?”
I smirked. “I’m her father. I think I can be pretty persuasive. You just worry about getting her to walk home with you. I’ll text you the address.”
He nodded, already rising to his feet, eager to put the plan into motion. As he headed for the door, I leaned back and exhaled heavily. Time to mind-link my daughter and let her know Liam was on his way. And more importantly, to convince her to at least be civil to the poor guy.