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Damian rolled his eyes—Katrina tended toward the dramatic—but it also made the edges of his lips curl up. If she was being dramatic, she wasn’t actually upset.
“The age gap thing doesn’t bother me, though. In fact, this might be a good time to tell you that I’ve been seeing someone.”
Oh, he did not like that segue. He did not like that segue at all. On the other hand, he knew what a massive fucking hypocrite it would make him if he objected to her dating an older man.
“Mmm hmm.” He tried to sound as noncommittal as he could.
“He’s a bit older, but only fifteen years older than me. He was my professor last semester.” The second sentence came out in a rush, and Damian found himself pinching the bridge of his nose again. Katrina kept talking over his low groan. “He’s really great, but I haven’t felt comfortable talking about him because it’s kind of new, and I wanted to make sure it was going somewhere before I had to deal with any judgment… but well, now, I’m not so worried about that.”
Damian would be a massive fucking hypocrite, considering the age gap between Katrina and her former professor was less than him and Emily. Fuck, his head hurt.
“You didn’t start dating until he was a former professor, right?”
“Yup. Trust me, neither of us wanted to risk the bullshit that could follow me for that.” Katrina still sounded amused, but there was an edge to her voice as well, almost as if she was daring him to disapprove.
When it came to relationship disapproval, she definitely held the trump card.
Fuck.
He should just be grateful she was taking everything so well and that she wasn’t freaking out and screaming at him or ending her friendship with Emily. The last thing he wanted to do was break up their relationship.
“Right, well, great. That’s great. I can’t wait to meet him.” He sounded completely insincere, but he was trying, and that had to count for something.
Katrina snickered, obviously amused by his lackluster attempt at enthusiasm. “I don’t think we’re there yet, but if we get there, I’ll let you know.” She paused. “Huh. I’m not sure whether I should threaten you or Emily about not hurting the other person. I guess just… you both better treat each other well, even if you don’t work out.”
“I will. No matter what happens with Emily and me, I do not want it to affect your friendship with her.”
“That’s cute, Dad, but it’s always going to affect it some. It’s impossible for it not to, but I think I can deal with it. Mostly. And I think I’m even rooting for you two. Mostly.” She took a deep breath. “It’s going to take me a while to wrap my head around it, but the more I’ve thought about it today, the more I’ve realized that at the end of the day, I just want you both to be happy. If you make each other happy, then hooray. I think.”
The ambivalence wasn’t at all like Katrina, but he understood why she was struggling with offering whole-hearted support.
The truth was, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen with Emily. They hadn’t talked about it. In fact, they’d studiously avoided talking about it during breakfast and while they were shopping.
Knowing how Katrina felt made things a little easier. Now, there was an option he didn’t think would have been there before. But it all really came down to how Emily felt.
It was one thing to spend a night together; it was another to try for a relationship, especially given all their history—his friendship with her dad, hers with his daughter, and the fact that he was so much older than her. She might not want to date someone who was literally old enough to be her dad.
“Well, let’s not put the cart before the horse,” he replied, probably proving he was too old to be dating someone Emily’s age, but that’s what it was. “I don’t know what Emily and I are going to do. We still have to talk.”
“Right, well. Good luck. I guess let me know how it goes?”
“Of course.”
Now, he just had to talk to Emily.
22
Is it a Date?
Emily
“So… is this a date?”
“Do you want it to be a date?” Damian asked.
It still felt weird thinking of him as Damian, but after last night and this morning, ‘Mr. Elliott’ didn’t feel right anymore, and she couldn’t call him Daddy.
Shouldn’t call him Daddy.
