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“Oh,” I said, forgetting that I told her that London and I were going shopping. “No. I really didn’t see anything I liked.”
“Julia, you always find things you like,” she said.
Oh my God, what was with the interrogation?I thought to myself. “I know, right? I did see a couple of dresses I liked, but they were out of my size,” I said as I started to walk up to my bedroom.
“Don’t forget we’re going to dinner tonight. It’ll be just the four of us.”
“I didn’t forget, Mom,” I yelled from the stairs.
As I stepped into my room, I went to shut the door, and Collin stopped it.
“How was your afternoon with the playboy?”
I rolled my eyes as I threw my purse on the bed.
“We had a great time. We went to the movies, and now I’m home.”
“Listen, Julia. I don’t want you to get your hopes up with him. He’s a player, and you deserve better than that,” Collin said.
“I’m a big girl, little brother. I can take care of myself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to freshen up before we go to dinner.”
Collin left my room, and I walked into the bathroom. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I ran my finger along my lips, remembering the amazing kisses Brody and I had shared. I snapped back to reality when I heard my phone chime. I looked down and saw there was a text message from Brody.
“Hey, babe. I can’t stop thinking about you. I miss you already.”
A huge smile splayed across my face as I instantly replied.
“Hi. I was just remembering our kiss. I miss you too.”
Collin knocked on my door and told me we were leaving for dinner. I put on my boots and walked downstairs as my dad put on his coat.
“Hi, Daddy.” I kissed him on the cheek.
“Hi, Princess. How was your day?” he asked as he hugged me.
“It was good.”
“How much did you spend?”
“You’re going to be so proud of me. I didn’t spend a dime.” I smiled.
He looked at me and cocked his head as confusion swept over him.
“Seriously, Julia. How much did you spend?”
“Seriously, Dad. I spent nothing. They didn’t have my size in the couple of things I saw,” I replied with a pout.
“Aw, I’m sorry. Maybe next time,” he said as he held his hand out for his card.
My mom and Collin emerged from the kitchen and asked if we were ready to go. We climbed into the Range Rover and headed to the restaurant. It was very important to my mom that we ate dinner as a family at least three nights a week. So, my dad made sure that at least one night a week, we ate out at a restaurant, and no matter where we were, we had to meet there. While we were sitting and waiting for our food, my dad reached into his pocket and handed me what looked like a credit card.
“I got this for you.” He smiled.
I reached across the table, took it from him, examined it, and saw it had my name.
“Daddy, thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I ordered it last week, and when you said something about your own credit card this morning, I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to surprise you with it.”