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“What?”
“I’m your dad, remember? I know you pretty well.” Jake crossed his legs and grinned. “So, who’s the lucky guy?”
“I…” Mary sighed. “His name is Max. He’s the water sports instructor.”
“Interesting.”
“You mean given I hate water?”
“I wasn’t expecting you to get on so well with a man who deals with water all day.” Jake waggled his eyebrows. “And by that, I mean…”
“Oh, Dad!” Mary groaned. “Don’t!”
“What? We’re adults.”
“I’m your daughter!”
“And I’m not stupid enough to know what goes on when there’s a man and a woman involved.” Jake regarded his daughter thoughtfully. “You liked him, didn’t you?”
Mary bit her lip.
“I did.”
“Is that why you wanted us to leave quicker than you planned? Because of him.”
Mary couldn’t answer. She simply nodded. Now her dad was saying it like that, she did sound like a complete idiot.
“What’s wrong with him for you to skedaddle as you did?”
“He…he’s younger than me, Dad.”
“How young? He can’t be that young.”
“Twenty-five.”
Jake shrugged.
“So what? You’re only thirty-five. It’s not like you slept with an eighteen-year-old, is it?”
“But he’s younger, Dad!”
“And?”
“What if…” Mary faltered. “What if he wants more than I can give him? What if we start something, and he wants…well, you know…”
“You think you’re incompatible because you can’t have kids.”
“One of the things Cody said to me when we last spoke was that I was a defect, and he was returning me as damaged goods.”
“And you think all guys are going to be like Cody.” Jake sighed. “Did you even tell this Max guy that you can’t have children?”
“Dad, that’s not exactly something you can tell someone on a first date.” Mary added hurriedly: “I mean, it wasn’t a date, but…”
“I know what you mean. You do know that not all guys are like Cody. Max might not even care about it, but you won’t know until you tell him. That is, if you want anything more.”
“I…I think I do.” Mary frowned. “But it was just one night. A few hours. How can I know if there’s something there after that?”
“You won’t know until you try. Who said you had to become an old maid after what happened to you? You’re allowed to do what you want, and if you think there’s a chance of something with a guy you like, go for it.” Jake paused, giving his daughter a knowing look. “But you won’t know which way he goes with it until you talk to him. And apologize for running away as you did. If he forgives you for that, you are one lucky woman.”
