Dad kisses the woman’s shoulder and I wrinkle my nose. My dad is a letch, but even so. The pretty woman he’s hugging seems way too young for him.
Then I circle around and freeze, my mouth open, staring at the girl in my dad’s arms. Long blonde hair. Tiny black dress. Fake tits. Fake blue eyes.
And a mole just above her lip that I know all too well.
My ex, Naomi, is staring back at me, her heavily made-up eyes wide, swaying a little as she clutches at my dad. She does a weird kissy face and I stare with no little horror at her lips; she's had them enhanced with silicone since we dated several years ago.
My dad has always gone for a petite, curvy, blonde type. I just never figured he'd go for girls that I once dated.
"Son!" My dad must have finished his story while I was staring at his girlfriend. "Come here, give your old man a hug."
As if we are best friends who talk all the time. Completely ignoring that I'm freaking out. He's here with the only girl I've really dated for more than a few months.
What the fuck is happening?
Shit. Naomi tried to text me and I ignored her. I can’t stop staring at my ex. Dad steps toward me, lifting his arms. I embrace him, my entire body stiff.
"What the fuck?" I hiss in his ear.
Dad's hug tightens. "Not here."
He steps back, clapping my shoulder. "I was just telling these guys about how excited you are for the preseason to start."
I tilt my head at that. What is he talking about? As far as I'm concerned, the summers are never long enough. Especially this summer, with Mollie staying in my house.
"Uh huh," I answer. "Dad, we should—" I pause to flick my gaze to Naomi. "Talk."
"Son, I want you to meet my main squeeze. Naomi, come here and meet my mini-me."
My mouth thins as he hauls her forward. She ducks her head like she's shy; Naomi and I both know it's way more than that.
"Hi, Thorne." She laughs as if she's just said something brilliant. "It's funny because that's what I call Mike!"
She rubs a hand over my dad's chest and it takes everything I have in me not to sneer. My dad lifts her hand to his lips, showcasing the world's biggest diamond ring.
"That's right, baby girl."
"You two are married?" I blurt out. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills right now. "What the fuck, Dad?"
"Whoa, language," he admonishes me. "And we're engaged, thank you very much."
"Not for long, though." Naomi smiles at me and twines her arm around my dad's neck. "We just love each other too damn much to wait."
My dad looks at her like she's the only woman in the world. Which is odd, since the last time I went todinner with him, he didn't mention getting engaged to my ex. That was months ago, though, so who knows if they were together back then.
"Sugar bear, why don't you go grab another drink from the bar? Let me talk to my boy here for a minute."
Naomi kisses him, loud and smacking, before he swats her on the rear. With a giggle, she heads off.
Dad turns to me, throws an arm around my shoulders, and tightens his embrace so it's more of a headlock than friendly tussle. "Come on. Let's go somewhere quieter."
I shoot him a look that could melt steel beams.
"After you."
He leads the way out of the packed ballroom, to a terrace that's darkened and empty. Before I can get a word in, he sighs like it's inconvenient to have to explain things to me. "Listen, son. Naomi is a nice girl?—"
"I know just how nice she is." I grit my teeth. "She and I dated for a year. She was too young for me. She makes you look fossilized, you sunbaked piece of leather."
