My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,43
dad was using to know if he had arrived yet, I walked in. “Hello, I’m here for Ziglar, party of two.”
The hostess smiled. “There’s a Ziglar party of three. And the rest of your party’s already here.”
I blinked. “Oh, I guess my mum came with him. I wasn’t expecting that. And you don’t need to know that, sorry. Can you just point the way? I’ll make my way over.”
“No problem, honey,” the older woman said. “They’re right around the corner.”
“Thank you,” I said and walked towards the back.
I hadn’t expected my mother to join us. I didn’t think they would get back together because once my parents made decisions, they made decisions. It was still a good sign that she was here with him, though. Right?
I moved around the corner and blinked, wondering who the hell the brunette woman was sitting next to my dad. Her hair was in a complicated knot on the top of her head. She had a bright smile and wore glasses and a skintight dress.
She was also probably only about ten years older than me. If that.
Who the hell was this woman, and why was she draped over my father?
A ball of anxiety sank to my gut, and I swallowed hard.
Please, dear God, don’t let this be what I think it is.
Please let this be a hooker for the night and not what it could be in truth.
My dad met my gaze and smiled. He patted the woman’s hand, and she looked up at me and grinned.
“Pacey,” my dad said. “I want you to meet Jessica.”
“I didn’t know we were meeting one of your coworkers today,” I said, outright lying to myself.
My dad frowned. “Jessica, Pacey. Jessica already knows about you, but Pacey, my son, this is the woman I wanted to talk to you about.” He squeezed her hand, and I stood there, not taking a seat.
“It’s so good to meet you finally. Your dad’s told me all about you.”
“I, honest to God, have no idea who you are,” I growled. There was no use trying to act civilly just then.
“Pacey,” my dad snapped.
“No, I’m not going to do this. I have a lot of schoolwork to get to. I cannot deal with this right now.”
“Pacey, sit down, don’t make a scene.”
“Who is Jessica, Dad?”
“Pacey,” my dad breathed.
“No, tell me. Then I’ll decide if I should sit or not.”
My lungs hurt. I knew stress exacerbated my condition, so I wasn’t going to let myself fall prey to it. But Jesus Christ, I couldn’t breathe.
I tried to take a deep breath, but my lungs wouldn’t work. My dad’s eyes widened.
“Pacey, it’s okay, you’re fine. When’s the last time you went to the doctor?”
“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked, her eyes wide as she looked between us.
“I’m fine,” I gritted out. “Dad, please don’t tell me this is your girlfriend.”
“I’m not going to lie to you.”
“Seems you’ve been lying to me for a long time.”
“Pacey, your mom and I drifted apart. We’ve been separated for a long while. Yes, this is my girlfriend, Jessica. I wanted you to meet her, and...” Dad cleared his throat. “We have news.”
I blinked, black spots now dotting my vision before I could shake them away. I looked over at Jessica and saw that she only had water in front of her, not the wine my father had. I looked down at the slight bump showing in that skintight dress, then up at my dad.
“Nope, I’m not doing this. Not now.” I turned on my heel and walked out.
I heard my dad shouting behind me, making the scene that he hadn’t wanted. Still, I left.
Dear God. Not only were my parents getting a divorce—the two people that I thought could weather anything and had shown me that true love actually existed and all that other Hallmark and gross, gooey crap. They had been lying the whole time.
He had been lying the whole time.
And Jessica was pregnant.
I got into my car and pulled out of the parking lot before my dad could reach me.
I ignored the call from him, and as I hit end to block it, my phone app lit up on my car dash. I saw Mackenzie’s name.
I could call her. I could lean on her. But not right now.
I needed to breathe. Had to think.
And I needed to figure out what in the hell I was going to do.
And wonder why Mackenzie, my friend, my rebound as we joked, was the one person I wanted to talk to just then.