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“That’s true. But if it makes you feel better, things probably won’t be so perfect between your father and me if we keep going down this road. I mean, I have menopause to look forward to and I hear it’s a real B.” I didn’t think Patrick would like me swearing in front of his children.
“I know what the b-word is. I go to high school, and it was my mother’s favorite word. She called everyone that behind their backs.” She curled her pretty lips.
“I think your mother was very insecure.” Or a b-word, but I kept that to myself.
“That’s what my nana Ophelia says.”
I knew that was Patrick’s mom.
“She also called my mom a b-word.” Bridgette giggled.
I joined her, thinking Patrick’s mom and I would get along just fine.
“Bridgette.” I gave her a good squeeze. “I hope you know I’m not trying to replace your mother or take your dad away from you. And I know I won’t be perfect at this.”
She looked up at me, her eyes bright from the earlier tears. “I like you, Isabelle.”
I tapped her nose, my heart soaring. “I like you too. Very much.”
“So, do you love my dad?”
My heart went from soaring to stopping. The girl was bold. It was a fabulous quality that I applauded and hoped she’d continue to use—but only on other people. “That is a very good question.”
“DO YOU THINK THE SHOESwill come in time?” Bridgette asked from the back seat, holding on to her new flirty black dress secured in a garment bag. She looked absolutely stunning in it. Definitely fun and sophisticated. It only took twelve tries and three stores to find it.
“I think so. If not, I have some fabulous gold strappy shoes you can borrow.” We’d discovered we wore the same shoe size. I think we learned a lot of things on our shopping trip. Not only did we both love cinnamon spice hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, scones, and Instagram videos of cute kittens, but most importantly, we found out we might just need each other. Shopping with her today was filling voids in my life that I didn’t even recognize were there. And she obviously craved a woman’s influence in her life. Someone she didn’t have to compete with. Maybe, just maybe, I could help her be comfortable with herself. I could show her what healthy relationships with other women looked like.
“Ooh. Can I try them on when we get back home?”
“Of course.”
Patrick glanced my way, beaming as he drove us to the airport. His eyes were full of gratitude. Yet, I felt like I should thank him for trusting me with his daughter. His bold, bold daughter who had me thinking a lot about her question. While Bridgette was in the dressing room, I’d actually googled if it’s possible to fall in love so fast. The scientific answer was, surprisingly, yes. More shocking was that 72 percent of men, compared to 61 percent of women, believed in love at first sight. Talk about bold. And frighteningly enough, I had all twenty signs listed in the article. From feeling like I already knew him when Patrick and I first met, right down to being completely confused by how strongly I feel for him. It’s totally not me. I didn’t even tell Jared I loved him until we had been dating for ten months, and that was after he’d told me he loved me six months prior. Did he ever really love me? That thought alone had me wanting to run scared. How could I have been such a fool?
Or maybe Charlotte was right. I was Amanda fromThe Holidayand I just needed to let go and take a chance, for once, on something seemingly too good to be true. I wouldn’t mention it to her. But ... what if I was in love with Patrick? Did that mean we were meant to be together forever? That’s a really long time. And like I said, the menopause years were closer than I wished them to be. I’d heard they can be kind of psycho years. And the boobs were sure to sag some more. Did he want to sign up for that? Would his kids love me?
I didn’t have time to process all that, as my parents had arrived, interrupting my thoughts. My mother texted to say they’d landed, which meant this all could be a moot point anyway, once Patrick and his kids were exposed to Sexy Mimi. It should be noted that my mother did not dress sexily, only that she thought her persona was sexy. Whatever that meant. I think she used that moniker because it made her feel younger. As much as she loved Jameson and wished for more grandchildren, she had a hard time saying goodbye to her youth. More and more, I was understanding that. I touched my abdomen. I used to hold out some hope that I would get my miracle. That somehow, some sneaky sperm would fight its way through and become victorious in a spectacular fashion that ended with me having a baby with dark curls just like mine. But my age now made that even more impossible, to the point of being ridiculous. I knew I needed to let it go and come to terms with it, just like the lines creeping in on my face.
Patrick placed his hand over mine, knowing exactly what I was thinking and feeling. How did he do that? The gentle swipe of his thumb across my skin seemed to say,I love you and you are enough for me.I wanted to believe that. I knew Jared resented the fact that we could never have children. He said he didn’t blame me, but I always felt like part of him did.
I grabbed on to Patrick’s hand and held it with an iron grip, feeling the light and warmth he brought into my life. The unspoken thing between us danced in the air, happy to do so for now.
When the airport came into view, my entire body tensed. It was going to be a long ride back to the inn.
“It’s going to be great,” Patrick said, once again reading my mind and mood.
“You say that now. Wait until she starts the ‘job’ interview and she throws in sometips.”
“What kind of tips?” Patrick asked.
“You don’t want to know.” Nor did I want to say them in front of Bridgette. I only prayed my mother would have some decorum around the girl who was working her way into my heart. Hopefully I was worming my way into hers too. Or at least I hoped some of her walls would stay down so we could tear down the rest together. I mean, we were sharing shoes. That was a kind of a big deal between girls. As in, I had only ever let Charlotte wear my shoes before.
Patrick’s brow quirked, but he was smart enough not to push. No need to talk, in his daughter’s presence, about the assortment of flavors in which condoms were available.
“Just let me apologize up front once again for anything my mother may say or do. And whatever you do, don’t ask her about being in Instagram prison or the hot grandmas group.”
Bridgette and Patrick laughed.
Before I knew it, we were parked in front of the classy airport. My mother was going to brag about this for years. She had already texted to say she felt like a movie star walking off the plane onto the tarmac. Drake was going to forever be her favorite. My dad had always provided us with an upper-middle-class lifestyle as an accountant for a large firm, but we never flew first class. The fanciest vacation we ever went on was when my dad won a cruise package at work. Even the amount of money Patrick had just spent on Bridgette’s dress gave me heartburn. We never heard words likemoney is no objectwhen we were growing up.
