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“My father didn’t think like so. He still thought I was a child.” She spoke softly, her eyes glazing over. I knew she had to miss her father. We all did, but she had a special bond with him. She was daddy’s little girl.
But it was hard to imagine her as anyone’s little girl now.
She pulled off the scarf, tossing it on the table before taking off her jacket. “Sorry, it’s a bit warm. Do you mind?”
“No, of course not.”
She placed her jacket on the couch next to her. Her silky pink shirt clung to her body. It didn’t go all the way down to her skirt either, showing off just a hint of her stomach.
I took a quick swig of my beer, trying to distract myself. I couldn’t look at her body, what was I doing? She was my best friend’s daughter.
Elle crossed her legs, and her skirt rode up, showing off her toned thighs. She had always been into yoga and keeping herself in shape, even though she didn’t work out too much. She was no athlete, just liked to keep herself healthy.
I put the beer down, afraid it was clouding my thoughts. I had to adjust in my seat, cringing as my erection brushed against my jeans. I cursed myself; that’s what I got for having such horribly inappropriate thoughts about Elle.
Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice and continued talking. “Do you remember that time Dad thought I took a drink from his beer? When I was eight, maybe?”
“I do,” I chuckled, remembering Carl’s face. He wasn’t so much mad as he was worried. “He kept asking me to call poison control to make sure it wouldn’t hurt you. You kept insisting you’d only smelled it and thought it was gross.”
“That’s exactly what happened. I smelled it, thought it smelled like pee, and put it right back down.”
“And Carl kept saying, ‘It’s okay if you tried it, you won’t be in trouble. I just need to know in case it can make you sick’”
“Yes! He really was a good dad.” Her voice cracked.
“He was. I hope to be as good as him.”
“Oh, I have no doubt. I always thought you’d make an amazing father.”
I looked down at my hand. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”
A silence hung over us. I glanced up and found her staring at me, a pained look on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you think—never mind.” She shook her head as if trying to banish whatever thoughts she was having.
“Do I think what?”
She hesitated, but I could tell the words were on the tip of her tongue. Finally, she sighed. “Do you think my father was proud of me?”
Tears welled in her eyes, and it killed me. Any sexual thoughts I’d had went right out the window. This was Carl’s little girl. This was Eleanor.
“Of course, Elle,” I murmured. “How could he not be?”
“I don’t know. He just had all these big dreams for me, for me to go off to college in New York City, to become this big-time journalist. It was supposed to be worth being gone for so long. I even missed—” She stopped short, but I knew what she was thinking.
“Elle, there’s no way you could have known he was going to pass away so quickly. No one did. He showed no signs, no symptoms, and even if he suspected it, you know your father was far too stubborn to let anyone know something was wrong.”
She nodded. “I guess so. I feel like I missed so much, and I still ended up here. But it’s too late. He’s not here.”
I wanted to cross the room and hug her but wasn’t sure it was appropriate. I also didn’t trust my thoughts since only moments before I’d gotten an erection looking at her. Jesus, I couldn’t be sure what would happen if I actually touched her.
So I stayed put, tried to comfort her from afar. “Elle, your father just wanted you to be happy. He didn’t care what you did with your life, as long as you were happy and healthy - and you are, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “For the most part, yes. Except for his absence, I really do love being home.”
“And he would be proud of you for taking over theLeader.”
