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She scoffs. “Ha ha, real funny. Seriously though, when will you be here? We have major damage control to go over with that photo.”
I roll my eyes. “I am being serious. I’m not coming in today.”
“Piper, you’re a couple weeks away from your launch. You need to come in today.”
“Well, I’m not, Penny. Talk to my assistant.” Before she can say anything else, I end the call and switch my phone to silent before heading to my car. I find my dad’s number and send him a quick text to let him know I’m stopping by for a chat, then drop the device into one of the cup holders and take a deep breath.
It will go well.
All I need to do is convince my dad that this thing between Beau and I is real, that it was all my decision to keep it going and not Beau’s. Hopefully, Dad will see how happy I am with Beau and decide to let the situation go enough that he we can be together.
The engine purrs to life as I press the start button and I give Romeo a small wave as he walks around the corner carrying materials, then I inch out of the driveway. It doesn’t take too long before I’m pulling in front of my father’s house, eyeing his car parked there too. He hasn’t texted me back yet, so I hope he’s ready for my arrival or else this is going to be a little awkward.
My body is shaking with nerves as I walk onto the porch, my dad's muffled voice coming through the other side of the door as I do, and I knock loudly before I can chicken out. His shadow appears behind the door and he swings it open, eyes widening in surprise at seeing me, and he opens the door wider with his phone glued to his ear.
“Let me call you back,” he says before quickly ending the call and sitting his phone on the stand next to the door. “Shouldn’t you be at the office?”
I should, there’s so much left to do before the launch, but that’s not important to me right now. “I took the day off,” I tell him. “I came to talk, didn’t you get my message?”
He shakes his head with a sigh and frowns. “I’ve been on the phone most of the morning, trying to figure out what I could do about things.”
“About what?”
“Beau.” There’s no emotion in his voice as he says it as if Beau never meant anything to him. That’s not what has my face heating up with anger though.
“What are you talking about?”
My dad groans and flops into one of the empty seats at the kitchen table. “He took advantage of you, Piper, something has to be done about that. I’ll get it figured out.”
I growl at his response. “Will you take a minute to hear yourself, Dad?” He flinches back at my words but doesn’t say anything and I use that as momentum to keep going. “I am an adult. I’m not a little girl anymore!”
“How do I know nothing was happening then?” He chokes out, his eyes glistening at the thought.
My gaze softens on him and I give him a small smile. “Dad, do you really think he would do something like that? Truly think about it. I’d be traumatized right now, did I ever seem like I was to you?”
“No.”
“I’m not a little girl, Dad, you have to start understanding that.”
He nods slowly and blows out a rough breath. “But Beau, Piper? Out of all people? How the hell did that manage to happen?”
I shrug. “I’ve always had a crush on him. I just thought it was one of those silly ones and didn’t think anything of it.” A smile forms on my face as I think about how things have escalated between him and I since he first came to my house. “But then he showed up to work on my house and we got closer. I think I love him, Dad, and I need you to be understanding of that.”
“Understanding?” He asks with a frown. “He’s my best friend. He watched you grow up, and I’m supposed to be understanding?”
“You don’t have to agree with it right now, but at least take a minute to talk to him. Ask him about everything. Don’t let your friendship go just because you don’t think we should be together.”
Whether Beau and I are together or not, he and my dad have always been the closest of friends. Beau is one of his better friends that I’ve met throughout my life and the only one I’d hate to see end over this. I’m sure neither of us expected it to end up this way because I sure as hell didn’t.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Dad asks, tilting his head to the side and studying my reaction. “If he's forcing anything on you, you can let me know.”
I shake my head. “He’s not forcing anything on me, I promise, this is what we both want.”
He nods and clutches his glass of tea on the table. “I can at least let him have his say about things, but I’m not promising anything. You still kept this from me. It’ll take me a minute to process everything.”
“And do you see why?” I ask, smirking at him, hoping that it lifts some of the tension flowing through the room. He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. At least he’s smiling, that’s the most I could’ve asked for after all this. “He has been treating me well, Dad, and if it helps? He’s been worrying about what you would think. That’s the reason we didn’t say anything to you.”
“It’s hard to think about, that’s all, and I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw that picture of you two. I just…,” he starts, then chokes on a sob and shakes his head, a tear falling down his cheek. “I thought he’d been doing things to you since you were a little girl, and I hated myself for letting that happen.”
