Leaning back in his chair, he says, “I’ll ask Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock over for dinner this week.” He opens his diary. “How about Thursday? Are you free?”
I twist my fingers together. “Dad, we need to talk.”
He raises an eyebrow, obviously detecting the seriousness in my voice. “What about?”
“Evan.” My father’s shoulders slump like he knows what I’m about to say. We’ve had a similar conversation many times before. “We decided we are better as friends. We both agreed we are more like brother and sister. There’s no reason to keep trying to make something work if there’s no spark.”
My father whips his glasses from his face and tosses them on the desk. On a heavy sigh, he says, “Evan is a perfect match for you.”
“No, he isn’t.”
“He’s intelligent, has a great career and comes from a good Christian family. What more do you want?”
“I want a deep connection. Someone I’m attracted to. I don’t have it with Evan.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut for a second. “Those things come with time. You never give anyone a chance. Not for the first time have I found someone suitable for you and our family. Why is it so hard to connect with any of them?”
“Maybe becauseyouare choosing them for me. I’m a grown woman who can find my own partner.”
“You’re twenty-six years old. You should be married by now and planning a family.”
My mouth drops open in shock. “This isn’t 1955. There’s no timeline on marriage and babies I have to follow.”
“I have to say I’m very disappointed. I had hoped Evan was the one.”
“I’m sorry.” There’s nothing I hate more than disappointing my father. The two of us are the only family we have. “Can you please stop with the matchmaking and trust me to find my own boyfriend?”
He narrows his eyes and stares at me like he’s wondering if I’m capable. “Okay.”
Just like that?Okay? If I’d known it’d be so easy, I would’ve done this years ago.
I get up and round the desk, kissing him on the cheek and hugging his shoulders. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
He pats my hand. “I love you, too. You’re a good girl. I know you’ll make a sensible choice.”
A sensible choice to my father is someone like Evan and all the others before him. If I don’t bring anyone home who measures up to that, he’ll probably go back to scouting eligible bachelors. And to not disappoint him again, there’s a high chance I’ll go ona date with them when what I really want is to be swept off my feet by the dark, dangerous man who consumes my thoughts.
eighteen
DAISY
“Onascaleofone to ten, how disappointed was Jude?” Sally asks as she carefully strokes on nail polish. We’re sitting on the couch, our feet propped on the coffee table, and separators between our toes. Sally is painting her toenails bright yellow. I’ve chosen a pale pink.
“I’d say about twenty.” I accidentally paint my skin and reach for a Q-tip to clean it.
“He really said he expected you to be married with a baby by now?”
“Married and planning a family,” I correct.
Sally fans her toes with her hand. “Same thing. It is a shame it didn’t work out with you and Evan. Who doesn’t love a hot doctor?”
“He wasn’t into me either. He told me it would never work because he can see an attraction between Kade and me.”
Sally dips the brush in the bottle, then scrapes off the excess and starts painting her other foot. “He’s right. When the twoof you are in the same room, it’s like fireworks are about to explode.”
“Sexual attraction isn’t going to get me what I want.”
“While you’re waiting for Prince Charming, the man of your dreams, who you want to spend the rest of your life with, why not have a little fun with Kade?”
