Page 122 of Never To Be Mine

The good vibes evaporated.

“Sure,” I said, because what else was there to say?

I collected Hollis from the crowd. “My dad wants to talk to us. Both of us.”

He searched my face. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t know.”

We followed my father out the back door where a couple of employees were taking a smoke break.

“So, today went well,” Dad said.

“Better than well,” Hollis said. “Thank you, Dan. For everything. Young at Heart made this happen.”

He nodded. “I didn’t pull you back here to talk about the business.”

Oh God. Here it comes.

“I want to talk about you two.” He looked at me, then at Hollis, then back at me. “And before you start rehearsing denials in your heads, let me save you the trouble. I’m not blind. I’ve watched you two circle each other. Kari comes up with some pretty good excuses, but not that good.”

“I’m going to kill Kari,” I muttered.

“She didn’t have to tell me anything. I raised you, Juno. I know what you look like when you’re happy.” He smiled at me. “So. Is there something you’d like to tell me, or should we keep pretending I don’t know my daughter is dating her business partner?”

I looked at Hollis. We weren’t necessarily hiding anything but we weren’t advertising it either.

I took a breath. “We’re together,” I said. “We tried to keep it professional. We can work together. You’re looking at the result of us working together.”

Hollis nodded. “We do work great together.”

“I was going to tell you,” I said. “A hundred times. I didn’t want you to think my judgment was compromised.”

My father held up a hand and smiled. I saw pride in his eyes. “Your judgment is impeccable. Your judgment held this partnership together through a crisis that would have sunk most deals. I trust you.”

I felt my throat get tight. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” He shrugged. “You’re a grown woman. You’re brilliant. You’ve spent years pouring everything into the company and nothing into yourself. Your mother would have been thrilled to see you this happy. I am too.”

Dad turned to Hollis. “As for you. You’ve impressed me, son. Not just today. The way you handled the crisis—turning it into the biggest opportunity either of our companies has ever seen—that takes something. But understand me, that’s my daughter. My whole world, walking around outside my body. You handle her with love and respect and we’ll get along just fine.”

“Sir, I consider it the honor of my life to be with Juno. I love her.”

He extended his hand. “Welcome to the family, Hollis. Unofficially, for now.”

Hollis shook his hand, and then my father pulled him into a brief, back-slapping hug. Then I got pulled in too.

The rest of the afternoon blurred by in the best way. It was nearly six when we finally escaped. The line was still going, the numbers still climbing, and the Curly’s team looked like they’d won the lottery, which, financially speaking, they sort of had. Hollis held the car door for me, then laced his fingers through mine the entire drive to his place, one hand on the wheel, looking very happy.

At the house, we abandoned our shoes by the door. Hollis made us our usual drinks and we moved out to the deck. We watched the sun sink, doing its thing with all the pretty oranges and pinks splashing across the sky. I was completely content.

“So I was thinking about something,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Your stuff.” He turned in his chair to face me. “You’ve got dresses in my closet. Your skincare situation covers your side of the vanity. You’ve got a favorite coffee mug.”

I frowned. “Are you complaining?”