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We stand at the bar as if we’re both ready to bolt in opposite directions should we be spotted by my tenacious daughter.
“You never told me you’ve been to Australia.”
Her smile falls. Her posture slumps. She even sets her glass down. It’s like all the air has been sucked out of the space around her. “It was a work thing.”
“I spent two weeks there.”
“Mmm,” she mumbles, looking anywhere but at me.
Ordinarily, when two people find they’ve visited the same uncommon place, they’d talk about it. Compare experiences. Askthings like ‘did you do this?’ or ‘did you see that?’ But Allie looks like she’d rather have a root canal than talk about her time there.
“I heard a rumor,” she says.
“I hate rumors.”
“But this one is aboutyou.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow.
“You and Bug are camping on the beach tonight?”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. Then I apologize. “I’m sorry. I know we were going to try and meet up. After Bug saw what she did this morning, she kind of backed me into a corner in front of your mom about the whole camping on the beach thing. And then she told Marti, and apparently…everyone. So now I feel it has to happen or people will think I’m a horrible father.”
Her hand covers her laugh. “Oh my gosh. She forced you into it so you couldn’t spend another night with me? You have to admit, your daughter’s got a lot of spunk.”
“Spunk. That’s what you call it?”
“Determination then. But hey, it’s my fault for going down to the beach half-naked this morning.”
I put a hand on her hip. “You should always be half-naked.” I smile and wink. “Unless you’reallnaked.” Leaning away, I continue, “There’s no way you’d have considered the possibility of my kid being down there.”
“I’ll bet she really hates me now, huh?”
I’m not about to tell her Bug called her a slut. “I don’t suppose you’re on her list of all-time favorites.”
She laughs. “No, I guess I’m not.”
Getting irritated, knowing this is not a laughing matter, I toss back a long drink. “Why are we letting my thirteen-year-old control what we can and can’t do, Al? We’re grown adults and she’s old enough to understand things.”
“We?” she asks. “There’s noweabout this. She’s your kid, Asher.”
“I know. It’s me. I’m the one who’s letting her walk all over me.”
“I get it. You’re a single dad. You want to protect her. And you put her happiness before your own. Things are great between you. As good as it gets between a father and daughter. You don’t want to rock the boat.”
“But there’s more to life than keeping my kid happy. I mean, you look fucking amazing in that dress and all I want to do is kiss you. I want to kiss you right here and not care who sees.”
She leans against the bar, looking all sexy and inviting. “Then do it.”
Our eyes lock and her gaze pulls me in like a tractor beam. I want to look around for Bug, but it’s as if Allie is issuing me a challenge. Kiss her, and the world be damned. But it’s almost like she’s also offering me an invitation. An invitation to officially make this—whatever this is between us—public.
Without breaking our stare, I accept the invitation—or challenge, as it may be—and kiss her. Putting my hands on the small of her back, I tug her to me, closing the gap between us. I lean down, finding her pink strawberry-flavored lips with mine. And I kiss her. I kiss her out in the open as if we’re together. A couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Lovers. And for just a moment, I get lost in the dream.
The moment is broken when I hear a high-pitched scream.
“Someone fell in the pool!” a waiter yells.
I turn to see a pale-blue dress floating atop the surface before a head of wet blue hair pops up from under the water. “Dad, help! My dress. I can’t swim.”