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“He has?” she asked weakly.
Her father ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon and they all laughed at something Steve said. Kitty glanced over to see Steve looking at her with concern in his eyes. “Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded. Yes. Of course she was all right! She was just in shock, that’s all.
The waiter made a big show of uncorking the champagne and her father raised his glass in a toast. Something about being happy to have everyone here for this most special night, yada, yada…
“How did you two meet?” Steve asked.
Sharon and her father exchanged a secret smile. “Your father tried to buy some drugs off me,” she said.
Kitty nearly choked on her champagne. Her dad slapped her on the back. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” she croaked.
“Now, Sharon, honey, you can’t say it like that. The truth is, I was nearly on my deathbed with one of the worst sinus headaches of my life, so I dragged myself down to the drugstore and tried to buy a couple packages of that stuff they use to make crystal meth with…what’s it called again?”
“You mean Sudafed?” Kitty asked.
“That’s the stuff!” Dad said.
Sharon’s blue eyes twinkled with mirth. And something else that Kitty found a little disconcerting. Sharon was looking at her father as if…as if… She crossed that thought immediately out of her brain.
“Dad, I think you’ve watched one too many Breaking Bad reruns.”
Her father laughed. “So, back to my story. I tried to the buy the stuff and out from behind the counter comes this gorgeous angel of mercy.” He winked at Sharon, who blushed furiously.
Kitty reached out and refilled her own champagne glass.
“I’m a pharmacist, and we have to make sure we’re not selling those kinds of products to any minors,” Sharon explained.
“Minors,” Kitty muttered. “Nope, I think Dad is definitely of age.”
“We hit it off immediately. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I asked her out, and it must have been my lucky day because she said yes,” Dad said.
Steve grinned. “Nice story.”
“Isn’t it?” Sharon said. “My daughters absolutely adore Alan.”
“Hey! Let me show Kitty the new baby.” Her father pulled out his cell phone. A pretty young woman with blonde hair and a big smile, holding a newborn in her arms, graced the small screen. “This is Ginny, Sharon’s youngest daughter, and Madison, the newest grandchild!” her father exclaimed proudly.
Grandchild? Her father was doing the nasty with a grandmother! Not that Kitty wasn’t relieved that her father had finally found someone his own age, but for as long as she could remember her dad had been living like some Hugh Heffner wannabe. What had happened to change him?
Dad went on to talk about the rest of Sharon’s family and what a great bunch they were. Apparently, they’d all gone on some kind of mini-vacation just a few weeks ago. He regaled them with a funny story about a golf game gone bad. And remember that time they got lost driving to Atlanta for the weekend?
The whole thing sounded incredibly cozy, as well as completely foreign. She’d spoken to her father just a couple of weeks ago and he’d never once mentioned Sharon.
“Exactly how long have the two of you been…um, dating?” Kitty asked.
“It will be three months tomorrow,” her father said, his voice thickening with emotion. “Sweetheart, I know this will come as somewhat of a shock to you, but I wanted to tell you my big news in person.” He paused for what must have been just a couple of seconds, but long enough for Kitty to see her life flash before her eyes. “Sharon has made me the happiest man on earth by agreeing to be my wife. We want to get married as soon as possible. Just a small ceremony. Sharon’s family and you. And, Kitten, I want you to be my best man.”
“Me?”
“I know it’s a rather untraditional role for a woman, but there’s no one I’d rather have standing next to me on the most important day of my life than my own daughter.”
Steve shook her father’s hand. “Congratulations,” he said. “Just last night Kitty was telling me how she hoped you’d find a nice woman and settle down one day. Isn’t that right, babe?”
“Of…course! Yes, um, this is fantastic!” Because, well, it was, right? She leaned over and gave her father a hug. And then, because it seemed like the thing to do, she gave Sharon another hug as well.
