I had never liked that phrase. My father, Charles Bennett, owned Bennett Marine Works — a seventy-year-old company my grandfather started, building custom navigation components for research vessels, luxury yachts, and coastal rescue agencies.

Daniel had met my father through business, and met me at a charity dinner six months later. At least, that was the story I had believed.

Chapter 6 — Speak to Your Father

I wanted to call my father, to hear his steady voice and tell him everything. But he had trusted Daniel almost as much as I had — more, in some ways. Three weeks before the wedding he had toasted Daniel at the rehearsal dinner.

You’re not just joining this family. You’re helping secure its future. Generous, then. Frightening now.

I called his office instead. His assistant, Carol, answered on the second ring. “Bennett Marine Works, this is Carol.”

“Hi, Carol. It’s Sophia.”