“Who were you not enough for?” I ask cautiously.
“My dad.”
“What did he want from you?”
“The complete opposite of who I am. I didn’t choose the right sport. Didn’t apply myself in situations the way he would’ve. I didn’t follow the career path he wanted for me. I was bull-headed and stubborn and everything he never wanted me to be.”
My heart breaks for him.
“What did he want you to be?”
“He wanted me to take over the restaurant. Expected me to bring home a nice Italian girl a few years back that he tried to set me up with, but neither of us were fans of the idea. Our fathers expected a grandchild by now. Oh, and I’m also expected to watch over Brynleigh and somehow keep all the douchebags she keeps attracting away from her. Like that’s somehow my job. If she ever found out what goes on in the background, it would cripple her sense of independence. Yes, I believe she deserves so much better, and the right guy is going to have to be one hell of a guy for me to accept him. She also doesn’t realize that myapproval is small potatoes in the big scheme of things because it’s all based on the big guy’s approval that she’ll never get. Nobody will ever be good enough for his little girl. Not unless he picks him for her himself. I’m doomed no matter what I do.”
“Wow, that is a lot. So your dad is old school Italian, huh?”
“Very much so.”
“And your mother? You two seemed like you have a better relationship.”
“She’s wonderful,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “She’s only ever encouraged Brynleigh and I to reach for our dreams and to never settle for anything less than love.”
“I look forward to meeting her.”
“She wants to meet you too.”
“You told her about me?” I pose, shocked that she’s already heard of me.
“What do you think we were discussing the day we met Colin and Sydney at the bakery?”
“I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t there to hear it.”
“We were discussing how restless I’ve been feeling. I told her that I haven’t been dating, that I was sick of the game, and she asked what orwhowas the reasoning behind this change. At that point, I still wasn’t sure, but she saw it the second she saw you. Said she knew it the minute I rushed out of the restaurant to meet you.”
My breath catches in my lungs.
“So… basically, your mom can’t wait to meet me, and your dad will be a tough one to win over. Got it. No pressure or anything.”
Mark laughs quietly on the other end of the line.
“Once he gets to know you, I assure you he’ll change his mind. Just like I did.”
“Well, at least I have Brynleigh’s stamp of approval!”
“So basically three out of four. The odds are in your favor.”
“Oh goody. Anyways, thanks for calling me. Also, you need to send me a picture of you. All I have is a group picture of all of us.”
“Hmmm, I’ll have to get creative.”
“No dick pics.”
“Damn, I took a really good one earlier.”
I chortle because I can always count on him to come back with some sort of nonsense that will make me laugh. Funny how fast things can change. Weeks ago, I would’ve bit back with something snarky.
“Hang on.”
I hear him shuffling around on his bed for a few seconds.
