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“Sorry, honey. No can do.” Patrick kissed me once more. “This is what a healthy relationship looks like. Learn it. Love it.”
Bridgette rolled her eyes. “So can I kiss boys in front of you?”
I liked her spunk.
Patrick cleared his throat. “It depends on how much you like him.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, if you value his well-being, I would say you might not want to risk it,” Patrick half teased.
She folded her arms. “You are such a hypocrite.”
“When you are forty-seven years old, you can kiss anyone you want in front of me. Deal?” Patrick turned toward her and held out his hand.
She shook her head at him. “You’re different. I like it,” she said quietly. Her moods changed like the minutes on a clock. Not that I blamed her. Being a teen girl was like wading in an ocean of uncertainty. I couldn’t imagine adding in losing my mother and having my father start a new relationship. Not to mention moving to a new state and school.
Patrick tapped her nose. “Me too, kiddo. Let’s go shopping.”
Those were some of my favorite words ever.
I held up a long emerald-green satin dress that would accent Bridgette’s stunning eyes in the bougiest store I had ever been in. That was saying something, considering my sister was marrying one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood. We had been in some fancy boutiques to pick out her wedding dress and my bridesmaid getup.
Bridgette tossed her head side to side. “I don’t know. I think I might want something shorter.”
Patrick swallowed hard but didn’t say a word. Although I was sure he didn’t like the wordsshorter dresswhere his daughter was concerned.
“Are you thinking more cocktail length?”
“Maybe? I want something that says I’m fun but also sophisticated.” She struck a vogue pose.
“Ah, yes. I think I saw something on the rack over there.” I pointed to the other side of the small boutique, all decked out for Christmas. They had a buffalo motif going on, which seemed to work only in Jackson Hole.
“I think you ladies have it covered here. Would you mind if I stepped out and did some shopping of my own?”
I tilted my head. “What kind of shopping?”
“Somebody does have a birthday coming up.”
“You remembered?”
He brushed my hair back. “How could I forget?”
That first kiss was so magical. Like Frosty-the-Snowman-Christmas-magic magical.
He had me feeling twitterpated like a teen girl. “I would be happy with the birthday gift you gave me last time.”
“That gift is a given.” He bestowed a small gift upon my lips. “Bridgette has one of my cards. Money is no object. See you soon.”
I watched him go, sighing.
Bridgette stood next to me. “You really like my dad, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I really do.”
“How come you guys broke up?” That was quite the question. I wondered why she hadn’t asked Patrick. Or perhaps she had but she also wanted my take.
“Well ...” I walked toward the dress I wanted to show her as she followed. “I don’t know that we were ever boyfriend and girlfriend when we dated a long time ago.”
