AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Isyour dad still mad at you?” Ginger asks as she sips her coffee across from me at Courage Cookies, a little bakery in town.
We’re here today with Susie. She’s the community manager at the gym. She’s new to town, but Ginger invited her to hang out with us. I like her bubbly personality and the way she finds the bright side of everything.
“I think he’s furious with me. He won’t even return my calls,” I tell her miserably. I haven’t heard from him in two days, and I’m starting to think that maybe I won’t ever. What if my dad never talks to me again? What if by falling in love with his best friend I messed everything up so badly that he can’t ever forgive me?
Ginger drums her fingers nervously on the table. “Do you blame me for my ridiculous plan to make Ace jealous?”
I think back to that night at the club. “That was your plan?”
“Duh, that’s why I took you there. How else would I get Ace to drag you back to his cave like a total Neanderthal?”
I laugh despite my sad mood.
Susie does too. “You’re devious.”
Ginger gets a serious look on her face. “Maybe that’s what it takes to get his attention.”
“Who?” Susie asks.
“You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking,” I tell Ginger, but I know it’s probably already too late. Once she gets an idea in her head, she goes for it.
She shrugs and gives me a mischievous smile. I’m pretty sure that she’s thinking about seducing her brother’s best friend. I explain this much to Susie, and she nods along. “Is he cute?”
“He’s big and grumpy and so handsome,” Ginger sighs dramatically. “But he won’t pay me any attention because I’m just Greer’s younger sister.”
Before we can talk more about Ginger and her unrequited crush, the bell above the door for Courage Cookies rings. The three of us look up to see my dad striding toward the table.
He never falters. He keeps his gaze on me the entire time.
I study his weathered face, his blue eyes so like my own. I’m trying to decide if he’s furious. A big scene in public isn’t his style, but then I’ve never pushed him this far.
I hear Susie’s breath leave her lungs in a whoosh as her cheeks go pink. It’s a strange reaction to my dad, and I file that one away to think about later.
Ginger gathers the remnants of their food and gestures with her head toward the door. “We’re going to go now.”
As soon as they get up and leave, Dad takes the seat across from me, the one that Susie vacated. He frowns and sniffs the air then frowns again.
“Hi,” I squeak the word. I’ve never felt nervous in front of my dad, probably because I’ve never kept a secret from him.
Dad looks uncomfortable. “Ace says you think I’m angry.”
I drop my gaze to a water stain on the table and trace it absently with my finger. “I mean, I understand if—”
“Look at me.” His voice is clear and strong, brooking no argument.
I glance up at him, expecting to see fury written across his features, but instead, all I see in his eyes is kindness. “I’m not angry.”
My shoulders slump. Somehow, that’s worse. “Disappointed.”
He glances around the little bakery before his gaze comes back to rest on me. “I saw four years ago when you kissed him. He pushed you away, and I thought that was the end of it. Stunned is more like it.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “Is it that big of a surprise? I mean, he’s the best man you know, isn’t he? Doesn’t it make sense that I would fall for a man who’s as courageous and strong as my dad?”
He scoffs. “You can do better.”
Fury rolls through me. Ace is the strongest, most selfless person I know. He’s put his life on the line for my dad repeatedly. “Better than a man who saved your life?”
“Better than men who come from nothing. Men who have been disposable their whole lives. But you—you’re something special. You deserve the best.”
