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Her face when I picked her was priceless. I got the feeling she was trying everything in her power to not be the one picked, which is why, to me, it made the most sense.
In my experience, you have to set the expectations up front. Every girl I’m with knows it’s nothing serious and if they start to think otherwise, I cut them loose. It’s harsh, but necessary.
I feel like I’m repeating myself in my mind going through all of this in an endless loop, but Millie prompts me to think about these things. She keeps me thinking about my past and my relationships and my future.
The more layers I peel back, the more I want to get to know her.
She stops laughing. “My mom would’ve loved that I was doing this.”
I frown. “As in past tense?”
She sighs deeply. “Yeah. She died a few years ago.”
I reach over and squeeze her leg. “I’m so sorry.”
She takes a sip of her drink and shrugs. “It sucks, but I got more time with her than they thought I would. She was so worried I’d end up not going to college or having fun in my life. This is a good start.”
She’s putting up a good front, but still her sadness seeps through.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what about your dad?”
Millie rolls her eyes. “Can’t trust fathers. They just leave.”
“Amen to that.” I raise my glass.
Her head whips up. “Really?”
I pretend to be offended. “What, someone as talented and handsome and successful as me can’t have daddy issues?”
Millie spits out a bit of her drink. “I wouldn’t have phrased it quite like that, but sure.”
“He’s not worth talking about,” I say. “My mom, though… I can’t even count how many jobs she took to support us. As soon as I could work, I did the same.”
Millie nods. “That makes a lot of sense.”
“What do you mean?”
She hesitates and I gesture for her to go ahead. I know how a lot of people see me — closed off, rude, mean, grumpy, work-obsessed. I’m intrigued to see what she thinks.
“Just with your work ethic and what your staff have told me. It makes a lot of sense with how you treat people and just a lotof things about you. It’s like all the puzzle pieces just snapped together and I can see the whole picture.”
“Really? And it wasn’t obvious from when you first met me?”
She laughs. “Gosh, no. I thought you were just an arrogant rich guy who only cares about himself and how much money he can make. But…” she puts her hands up defensively, “I was wrong.”
I gasp. “Wow, an admittance of wrongdoing. I don’t hear those very often.”
She smiles. “And as long as we know each other, you probably never will again.”
I wonder how long that will be. I hope longer than just here and now, but the reality is this is likely all we’ll have.
I don’t want to pry, but I do want to know about her mom.
I offer to get Millie another drink and she lays back and looks at the stars that are now glistening in the sky.
I hand her the drink and she takes a sip and gives me a thumbs-up.
Then she stands up and takes her dress off.
