Soda Pop, if he knew what you were thinking he'd be out the door faster than a fugitive.
So when my dad called and invited me over for an early dinner I jumped at the offer, hurrying out of Jo and Cam's with barely a good-bye to Nate.
Dad had thrown together marinated chicken, potatoes, and salad, and I sat on the stool next to him, picking at my food while he reassured me after I told him about the Joss incident.
I shook my head at his assurances. 'You didn't see her face. She looked … haunted.'
'Braden found her, right?'
'Yeah. Els texted to say he found her at the castle, where he thought she'd be.'
'Well, we'll just need to wait and hear from them.'
I nodded but kept pushing my food around my plate, my thoughts consumed by Joss and Nate.
'You've lost weight,' Dad commented. 'Eat up.'
That was another upside to constant and active sex. I really had lost a few pounds and even toned up a little. Not that I could tell my dad the reason why. My cheeks burned just at the thought. 'I've been really busy. Not a lot of time to eat.'
Dad raised an inquisitive eyebrow. 'I have noticed these last few weeks you've been a little distant. Is it work keeping you busy?'
'Yeah, work … and, you know, sometimes I help Nate out with his job as a reviewer.'
I caught the curl of his upper lip out of the corner of my eye. 'Surely he's getting paid to do that himself.'
'He's my friend, Dad,' I warned.
'I can't help it. He's twenty-eight years old and hasn't bloody well grown up. He swans around taking photos and playing video games and watching movies, and he takes to bed anything that moves. That's not a man, Olivia. That's a boy. One that's trouble. And I don't like him sniffing around you.'
'Hey, that's enough!' I snapped, my fork clattering to my plate.
Dad stared at my angry, flushed face in surprise.
'You don't know him,' I said before he could reply. 'You don't know anything about him.'
'Then enlighten me. What is it about this guy that you find worthy of your respect and time?'
'He's a good friend. A loyal, caring, compassionate friend.'
'How? Why? What has he done?'
Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back, staring at the beautiful bay window that looked out over Heriot Row. I couldn't quite meet my dad's eyes as I admitted, 'Last Thanksgiving I lied to you. I said I was okay, but I wasn't.' I felt the air around him thicken as he tensed. 'When I left you I went home and went into a crazy meltdown. I cooked a turkey, potatoes, everything, but I burnt it and started to freak out. I mean … really freak out. Luckily, Nate was just dropping by and he caught me in the middle of it and he sat with me while I sobbed all over him about Mom.' I chanced a glance at my dad and saw his jaw was taut, his eyes bright with sadness. 'Nate was really there for me, Dad. And he got it. He got me. He lost the love of his life when he was eighteen.' My voice cracked on the words 'love of his life.' 'She died of cancer.'
'Jesus.' Dad bowed his head, drawing his hand down his face as though exhausted by the news.
'They were childhood sweethearts and by all accounts she was pretty special. He hasn't been the same since. You can't tell anyone, Dad. He doesn't talk about it.'
Dad looked at me, his gaze sharp. 'Are you seeing him?'
My pulse started racing, my limbs shaking as I lowered my eyes. I couldn't lie to my dad. I just couldn't. 'We're not in a relationship, if that's what you're asking.'
'Oh, baby girl.' He groaned as if he was in pain. 'I hope you know what you're doing.'
Feeling tears inexplicably prick my eyes, I looked away and picked up my fork to play with my food again. 'You can't say anything. No one knows about us.'
'And who am I going to tell?'
I smiled weakly at my plate. 'Are you disappointed in me?'
'No.' His hand came down around mine, stilling my nervous movements. 'But my girl deserves more than whatever you two are up to. You deserve to start making a life with someone. You deserve to be the love of some man's life.'
Somehow I managed not to cry. Instead, I smiled brightly at him, pushing all the negative stuff into my deep, dark pit. 'Believe it or not, Nate has taken me a hundred steps closer to finding that.'
'I don't understand.'
'You don't need to, Dad. Just know that I'm better than I have been in a really long time.'
He studied me for a moment. 'Okay. I'm glad, sweetheart.'
My phone rang, interrupting our heart-to-heart. Seeing Jo's face on my screen, I reached for the phone hurriedly, as I realized she was probably calling about Joss. 'Hey.'
'Ellie just called,' she said without preamble.
'And?'
'Joss is pregnant.'
I froze, frowning as I looked over at Dad. 'Isn't that good news?'