“It does suck, and I think Xander was bummed,” I told her. “I liked hanging out with them. It was nice to see Xander and his brother banter back and forth. And Kade did not hold back. He gave me lots of insight into Xander’s past. I feel like I know him so much better after a couple of hours hanging with him and his brother.”
She paused what she was doing and looked at me. “You are really falling for this guy.”
I grimaced, wrinkling my nose. “I am. Is that bad?”
“Why would it be a bad thing? He sounds like a great guy. I’m practically falling for him and I don’t know him.”
“Great guy doesn’t negate all the other things.”
“What other things? I’m so confused. Good is good.”
“Let’s see. My dad hates him.”
“Your dad isn’t sleeping with him,” she retorted.
“Gross,” I murmured.
“Next,” she said, waving her hand.
“We agreed to be friends. We wanted to keep things casual. What I feel does not feel casual.”
She shrugged. “And why is that a bad thing?”
“Because what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
She looked thoughtful. “Your face says you are falling for him.”
I was confused. “What does that mean?”
“You have told me many times you can read people really well. You can be just as guarded with your heart as you tell me he is. You are open and warm and loving, but you keep things on a very surface level.”
“That’s not true,” I protested.
“When is the last time you were in love?”
I thought about it. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly. You haven’t. Trust yourself with this. Don’t start attaching a bunch of rules and hangups.”
I sighed. “I don’t want to, but it’s self-preservation. I don’t want to get hurt.”
“Nobody wants to get hurt,” she said.
“Definitely not.”
“What are you going to do about your dad? You can’t let him get in the way of your happiness.”
I slowly shook my head. “I have no idea. I tried to talk to him. He isn’t budging.”
“Maybe try to explain to him Xander is important to you. He should understand love. He loved your mother.”
The memory of his grief still tugged at my heart. “Yes, he did.”
“What if that’s why he is so against you getting together with Xander?”
“What? That makes no sense.”
“He loved and lost, and it cut him deep. There could be a chance he doesn’t want you to experience that same kind of pain.”
“Plausible, but not likely.”
“Fine, then back to the original question. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. He won’t talk to me. I’ve been calling him all week, and once again, he’s dodging my calls. He’s being very childish about all of this. It’s really pissing me off.”
“He’s probably been busy writing his speech,” she said nonchalantly.
“Speech? For me? I don’t need another speech from him. I’m good. He said plenty.”
She burst into laughter, tossing a few bangles into the basket hanging from her arm. “Not for you. His acceptance speech.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The achievement award he’s getting from the school,” she answered.
She might as well have slapped me. “I didn’t know he was getting an award.”
“I saw it in the newspaper, way in the back, but I saw the name and read the article.”
I shook my head with frustration. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me!”
“I’m sorry. I assumed you knew.”
“I should have known. I’m his daughter and he didn’t have the decency to tell me! Rude. So fucking rude and childish.”
She looked around. “Shh. Come on. Let’s buy this stuff and go get some dinner.”
“I can’t believe him!” I exclaimed again.
She practically dragged me to the checkout. We paid for our things and quickly left the store. I was still pissed. Instead of wasting time and driving somewhere, we opted to go to the Olive Garden in the same shopping center.
“You need a drink,” she ordered. “How about something fruity?”
“I can’t drink. If I drink, I’m only going to get madder.”
“I’m sorry I told you,” she said.
“Don’t be. I blame him. I’m so pissed at him.”
We were seated at a quiet table.
“Let’s talk about something else,” she said. “Like work. How is it going? Any more gigs you need me to cover?”
“No.”
“Any juicy details on some celebrities that are going to be getting married soon? You always get the earliest scoop.”
“No.”
She stuck her fingers in her water glass and flicked them at me.
“Hey!” I protested.
“Snap out of it. I get a couple hours with you. I am not going to put up with a