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But he’s a stubborn man. He’s going to assume right away that I’m a naive girl and that Will is taking advantage of me, that I don’t know what I’m doing. But my mind has never been clearer. I’ve never been more certain of what I want. And what I want is a happy life with the father of my child, the only man I’ve ever wanted and will ever love.
I hear him before I see him. Out in the corridor, I hear his suitcase wheeling along and I close my eyes. I don’t know how this conversation is about to play out, but my stomach is in knots. I know that next door, Will is probably pacing up and down, waiting for a verdict. He’ll be desperate to come over and intervene, but for now, I just want it to be me and my dad. I want to have a chance to convince him that this is the right thing for everyone. I want a chance to make him understand. I hope that he does.
“Elle?” Dad calls as he comes through the front door. “You here, darling?”
I head out of the living room and greet him with an uncomfortable smile. He doesn’t seem to notice my nerves as he pulls me in for a hug, kissing the side of my head fondly.
“There she is,” he says brightly. “It’s good to see you. Thanks for looking after the place, baby girl. How has it been?”
“It’s been good…did you have a good time?”
Dad begins to chatter on about his vacation and I nod along silently, not really listening. Normally, I’d love to hear about everything he got up to and talk about it, but not today, I’m really not in the mood. All I want to do is get this conversation we need to have out of the way so I never have to think about it again. I’m shaking with nerves. The longer I have to wait to talk about this, the harder it’s going to feel.
“Are you okay? You’re very quiet,” my dad says, touching my cheek gently and I blush. If only he knew the number of times Will has cupped my cheek just like that. If only he knew what I got up to behind his back. Can I really do this? Tell him that I’m in a relationship with his neighbor? Maybe I should hold back for a while like Will said…
But no. I can’t. I can’t lie to him. I have to muster up my courage and be honest about this. I take a deep breath, looking up at my Dad.
“I…I have to talk to you about something important, Dad.”
His face creases with concern and he leads me over to the couch to sit down. “Okay, darling. What is it? Are you okay?”
I muster a smile. “I’m fine, better than fine, actually. Things have never really been better for me…but that’s what I need to talk to you about. I think you’re going to find this news hard to swallow, but it’s important to me and I don’t want you to freak out.”
He frowns deeper. “You’re freaking me out, Elle. What’s going on? Should I be worried?”
I take a deep breath. “Look, something happened while you were away. Something that changed my life forever, but in the best possible way. I…I fell in love.”
My dad stares at me like he’s waiting for some kind of punchline. He cocks his head to the side. “You did? That’s…that’s great, honey. Who is the guy?”
Now for the hard part. I suck in a breath of air, not feeling prepared for this conversation at all. I look my dad in the eyes.
“It’s someone you know. It’s your neighbor, Will.”
I watch a million emotions cross his face at once. I knew he wouldn’t take the news lightly, but I’m already beginning to think I’ve made a mistake in telling him. This is bad. Really bad.
“What did you just say?”
“Dad, I know this is going to be hard for you to swallow. But Will and I, we hit it off from the moment we met. I know this whole thing happened fast, but we really care about one another. We’re in love. And we want to spend the rest of our lives together. I don’t expect you to understand right away, but if you’re willing to give it I’d like your blessing. I want you to be happy for us.”
I watch his eyes darken. “How in hell am I supposed to be happy for you, Elle? You’ve got this all wrong. You’re not in love. You can’t fall in love in a week! And with a man twice your age? No, I won’t accept this. It’s wrong. You’re delusional!”
“Dad, please. Try and understand…”
“What is there to understand? God, I thought that Will was a good man. He’s clearly taking advantage of you. You’re too young and naive to know what love is and he’s convinced you that this is it. Whatever this crazy thing is, you need to end it. Right. Now.”
