Dad's E-Mail Order Bride by Candy Halliday - Alaska Bound 01 - Dad's E-Mail Order Bride Page B

looked across the table at Courtney, then back at him. “Well, at least admit you think Courtney looks beautiful tonight, Dad.”
    “Rachel!” Courtney protested. “Don’t put your dad on the spot like that.”
    But rather than have Courtney more embarrassed than she already was, Graham looked directly at her and said, “You look extremely beautiful tonight, Courtney. And so does my daughter, even if she is being a complete brat.”
    “Why, thank you, Graham,” she said politely and picked up her wineglass. “I say we make a toast to your beautiful daughter, even though she is being a complete brat, for planning such an incredible meal for us tonight.”
    Rachel rolled her eyes. But she got the message from both of them to back off.
    “To Rachel,” Graham said, lifting his glass and touching it against Courtney’s, then against Rachel’s Sprite-filled wineglass.
    But he hadn’t missed Courtney’s wink when their glasses touched, signaling she was pleased with the way they were handling the situation. That made Graham realize Courtney might be more of an ally than he thought.
    Maybe Courtney would be a good friend for Rachel after all. He’d paused outside the kitchen on his way to dress for dinner and listened while Courtney patiently walked Rachel through making the sauce for the salmon. And as he’d entered his bedroom, he’d heard them laughing. He hadn’t heard Rachel laugh like that in a long time.
    Graham glanced over at his daughter again.
    Seeing Rachel all dressed up made him wonder when his baby girl had grown into such a lovely young woman. But the dress she wore only reinforced Graham’s belief that he was doing the right thing refusing to move to New York. Rachel had a lifetime ahead of her for party dresses and fancy restaurants. A lifetime where he would only be an afterthought, the father she might decide to visit now and then.
    He’d wasted the first ten years of her life. He didn’t intend to squander the short time they still had left together. And if that made him a selfish father, so be it.
    Fathers were selfish when it came to their daughters.
    Always had been.
    Always would be.
    “I want to make a toast to you, Graham,” Courtney said, jarring Graham from his thoughts. “To you, for being a good sport and wearing your tux tonight.”
    Graham swallowed past his collar and bow tie again. The same way he seemed to every time she looked at him.
    “You do look good, Dad,” Rachel chimed in. “Even if you are forty.”
    “Hey, I’m not forty yet,” Graham reminded her.
    “But you’ll be forty tomorrow,” Rachel said. “And there’s something we need to talk about before the party. I told everyone we’d invited a friend of yours from New York, but only Tiki and Gil know the truth.”
    “I knew Gil was in on it!” Graham complained.
    “Not really, Dad,” Rachel said. “I just made him promise he wouldn’t let Courtney get back on the plane.”
    Courtney laughed. “And Gil sure kept his promise.”
    “So, let’s just stick to my story, okay?” Rachel begged. “No one needs to know the truth. I don’t want Courtney to be embarrassed when she meets everyone.”
    It was Graham’s turn to laugh. “And you being embarrassed over what you did has nothing to do with it. Right, Rachel?”
    Rachel blushed. “Okay. I don’t want any of us embarrassed. Agreed?”
    Graham nodded and reached for his wineglass again. Besides, what choice did he have? At least they could get through the party and Courtney would be gone before Gil had the opportunity to tell everyone the truth of the matter. And Gil would make sure everyone knew the truth—the stunt Rachel had pulled was too sensational for Gil to keep quiet about it.
    “Since I’ll be so busy with your party tomorrow,” Rachel spoke up again, “I want to give you your birthday present from me tonight.”
    And why doesn’t that surprise me? Graham thought.
    Rachel always knew exactly how to play him. Give the old man a