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My dad clears his throat again. Raising both hands, he says, “Just sayin’.”
“He wouldn’t be that man if he didn’t play soccer. You two found this connection on the field first, and your love evolved around that. But sometimes dreams don’t work out, so you have to make a new one. You’re thirty and I’m not pushing, but do you want a family one day?”
I nod, sucking back my tears.
“If you stay here, you’re going to find some man you kind of like and maybe can learn to love enough to marry and raise a family with. But he’ll never be what Rylan is to you. I bet you have visions of hot sex and not being able to keep your hands off one another, not the kind of marriage where you’re scheduling sex in once a week.”
“Harley!” Dad shouts.
“You don’t have to answer that, but don’t stay here and settle for mediocre. Go. Live your life with the person who matters most to you.”
“Again, me!” My dad holds out his arms and looks at us as though he doesn’t understand what we aren’t getting.
Mom shakes her head. “I’m sorry if you think I’m being hard on you. And I understand why you came running home years ago, but now it’s time to take responsibility for your life and start living a new dream.”
God, everything she’s saying makes so much sense. I can’t believe I couldn’t see it for myself. I’m starting to understand why my great-grandma felt like she had to step in so much with all her grandkids.
I glance at my watch. “Can you take me to the airport?”
“Brinley already packed your suitcase. Thank Uncle Wyatt. His plane is waiting in Anchorage for us.”
“Thanks.” I kiss her cheek, then my dad’s.
I rush to grab my purse and put on my shoes, then I’m locking up the cabin, thinking of how Rylan would be surprised if he could see me doing so without a reminder. I hear my parents talking by the car.
“You stole my thunder,” Dad says.
“She’s your baby girl. You would’ve gone too soft on her.”
“Probably. I am the man she loves the most though.”
Mom laughs. “Oh, babe, I hate to break it to you, but you’re being replaced.”
I make my way down the steps and over to the truck.
“I’m not, am I?” Dad asks me as I’m about to jump in the back seat.
“Never, Daddy. It’s a different kind of love.” I kiss his cheek and hop in. “Now hurry please.”
Dad does me a solid and gets me to the airport in no time at all, and my mom tells me how proud she is of me and expects an update as soon as I manage to get out of Rylan’s bed. My dad groans and she tells him to get over it.
I arrive in Chicago at ten thirty at night and hail a cab to Rylan’s condo. I get into the building by following someone else. The doorman isn’t there, so I figure he must have gone to the washroom or something, but I’m not complaining.
My stomach is a mess as the elevator rises. It dings and the door opens.
With a deep breath, I walk down the hall to Rylan’s condo and ring the bell, praying like hell that for once we get it right.
Thirty-One
Rylan
“Fuck.” I run my hand over my face again. I have that damn nightmare every time I fall asleep now. You’d think after my talk with my dad and the fact that I’ve already set in motion what I need to do, it would go away.
The ringer to my condo buzzes. Please tell me it’s not my mom here to give me more advice on the matter. My head is finally on straight.
I walk down the hallway shirtless in my pajama pants and look through the peephole.
No way.
