sold me my Porsche a few years ago. I still have the Porsche. It’s a great car.” He shrugged. “Jan? Well, she found somebody else. So, it’s just you and me, kid.”
“I’m glad.” She’d thought about what she wanted to say on the plane but nothing seemed right. Sydney opened her heart.
“I’ve always loved you, Dad, but you were driving me crazy with the parade of women.”
“I wanted to find you and your brother a new mom.”
“We didn’t need one,” she pointed out. “We only needed you.”
“I finally figured that out, too. I’m sorry I was too late. By then, you and your brother were gone.”
Sydney didn’t want to talk about Birch now. It still hurt too much.
“I guess I should tell you what I’ve been up to.”
“I know.” He gave her a sad smile. “I hired a PI after Craig died and you dropped off the face of the earth. I had to know where you were. If you were safe. He found you. Reported in every six months. I know about college. How you graduated magna cum laude. And first in your class at Yale Law. And . . . your marriage.”
“You kept track of me all these years?”
He shrugged. “I wanted to keep tabs on you. I knew you didn’t want to talk to me. But you’re my little girl, Syd. I needed to know you were okay, wherever you were and whatever you were doing.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t let you know where I was,” she apologized. “I would say I regret not inviting you to my wedding but the guy turned out to be a piece of crap. His mother was even worse. I’m better off without him.”
Her dad came and sat beside her. He took her hand and stared down at it as he said, “I lost Monica. Birch. You. Craig. We’ve lost a lot of time, Syd. That’s behind us. You’re here. That’s good enough for me. I don’t want to hear about your past. Let’s take it from here and look forward to whatever’s ahead between us, okay?”
She squeezed his hand. “I can do that.”
“What are you gonna do with yourself? Still want to practice law?”
She chuckled. “I think that’s the last thing I want to do. I’m good at it but it bores me to tears. Besides, I’m not licensed in California.” She paused. “I’d like to work with you. On whatever film you’re involved with now. I want to write. After all these years of keeping it inside me, I’ve got a thousand characters screaming to get out.”
He beamed. “That’s great. I’m starting a new film soon. I lost my story boarder, else I’d show you those.”
“I could do that,” she volunteered. “Remember how I used to sit in on meetings? I’d draw up my own storyboards for your films. You used to get a kick out of them.”
“I’d forgotten about that. You know, I could really use you. Tell you what. I’ll let you read the script before I say anything. You can give me your thoughts. Either we can break it down together or I’ll let you have a whirl at it.”
He patted her knee. “I always hoped we’d work together one day.”
Sydney put a hand on top of his. “I guess that day finally arrived,” she said softly.
The doorbell sounded.
“Oh, I ordered out. Gino’s. Hope you still like pepperoni and mushroom.”
She grinned. “My favorite. I’ve dreamed of Gino’s pizza for years.”
He peeled off a few bills. “Grab the door, baby, and pay the guy. I’ll get us something to drink.”
Sydney stood. “Let’s eat in the kitchen. That’s my favorite room in this house.”
“I’ll set the table now,” he told her.
She went to the front door and opened it, seeing a large box and getting a whiff of nirvana. Without really looking at the delivery guy, she said, “Thanks,” and tried to hand him the cash as she reached for the box.
Then she noticed a pizza delivery van backing out of the driveway. No other cars were there. Curious, she raised her gaze and found herself mesmerized by electrifying, ice blue eyes. The man had jet black hair and the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. Her insides instantly melted. She’d never had such a physical reaction to a man. Any man.
“Who are you?” she asked.
CHAPTER 3
Who are you? Was she serious?
Every woman in America knew Dash DeLauria. He couldn’t pump his own gas anymore or run into Starbucks to grab a latte. He had a stylist come to his