Page 43 of Just Another Meet Cute

The next morning, I was in the lobby trying to read, instead of obsessing over Ian and our almost kiss, when Dad found me. Not sure how, since I was pretty much tucked away in the corner armchair behind a giant plant.

Not that I was trying to hide from him or anything.

At least not intentionally this time. I wanted to give my parents some privacy until the hotel moved us to two rooms with a connecting door.

Mom was fine with me having my own room, but only if she was next door.

She was worried that I would sneak in a boy or throw a raving party.

This coming from the woman who kept an earth-shattering secret from her family—her own daughter—her entire life.

But I was over that now.

Mostly.

The first place I went to go be alone was the pool.

The hotel boasted seven different pools in their facilities.

All ranging from inside, outside, and kiddy to wave.

One pool even ran from the inside to the outside.

Plus, they had these lounge chairs that swallowed you up like you were laying on a fluffy cloud.

I would have stayed out there, but the tanning butler kept coming over to offer me sunscreen every five minutes. He couldn’t seem to understand that I didn’t need his services.

At first, I thought he was flirting with me or something, but he was in his forties. And then I saw him kiss the lifeguard on the other side of the pool. A really hot lifeguard, too, who could put the Hemsworth brothers to shame.

So obviously I wasn’t his type, but way to go, Mr. Tanning Butler.

Not to mention, he seemed very sweet and was genuinely worried that I would burn.

Or maybe that the hotel would get a bad review if I did.

Either way, once he chased me inside, the only other place I knew in the hotel was the lobby.

Or the pet spa. And I couldn’t stay there with my allergies.

Plus, it would be super weird if I did, considering I didn’t have a pet with me.

A shadow loomed over my shoulder. “Do you mind if I sit down?” Dad asked.

“Sure.”

I assumed that he was going to sit in the seat next to me—I already scooted over a foot—but Dad decided to sit in the seat across from me instead.

He clasped his hands together and leaned on his knees with his forearms. His mouth opened and closed slightly like he was trying to figure out exactly how to start.

Deciding to help him out, I switched off my Kindle and placed it beside me. “What’s Mom doing?”

“Oh, she’s at the spa. Normal one, not pet,” he quickly added. “Since we’re still not sure how long we’ll be staying here, she thought she would make the most of it in the meantime.”

I grinned. “Considering she also went to the spa yesterday, I think she’s definitely making the most of this.”

Dad made an exaggerated grimace. “Yeah, we need to get out of this hotel soon or we’ll end up spending your college fund.”

“Or your retirement fund.”

“Oh, no. We’re not touching that,” he joked with a laugh. It slowly died as he cleared his throat. “Your mom told me that she confessed to you about … everything.”

“She did.”

His hands were clasped together so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. “I don’t want you to blame your mom. She did what she thought was best at the time.”

I was almost surprised that the first thing he did was defend her, but I shouldn’t have been.

I mean, he basically let himself be the villain in our family for years and probably wasn’t ever planning to tell me the truth.

So of course the first serious talk we’d ever had would be about forgiving Mom.

But in my heart, I knew that Ian was right. I couldn’t stay mad at her. In a way, I didn’t even think I was anymore. Not that much anyway. But that didn’t mean that I could totally forgive her. It’s not like I could snap my fingers and poof! everything would go back to the way it was before.

“I don’t blame her, but it’s going to take a while for me to … accept everything,” I said slowly. “It’s a lot right now.”

“I know. You’ve always been her rock. And she’s been yours.

And it’s going to stay that way no matter what happens.

” One of his hands lifted and I thought he was going to reach out to me, but it hovered in the air for a few seconds before falling back onto his lap again.

“But now that you know the truth, I want you to know that I’m here, too.

I may not be able to be your rock, but I would like to be here for you.

Just a tiny pebble, if that’s what you want. ”

“Thanks.”

“And I do want us to talk.” Dad looked a little hesitant, like he knew this would be a bad idea, but he took the plunge anyway. “About anything you want.”

There were so many questions, so many things I wanted to know about everything.

It was like I was starving and someone plopped me down in front of the biggest buffet in the world.

With a homemade pasta station made from scratch and a chocolate bar with hundreds of different varieties and flavors. And sushi.

So much sushi.

Maybe I was hungry. Skipping breakfast probably wasn’t the best idea.

I let out a deep breath. Better to take it one thing at a time. “I want to know about your other kids. I want to know about Lucy and Adam.”

He instantly nodded like he knew exactly what I was going to ask before I even did.

“They’re great. You would like them. Adam is loud.

Outgoing. He’s everyone’s best friend. And he loves to build things.

Model planes. Random stuff around the house.

He would nail and glue everything together.

There used to be Legos all over the place when he was small.

I stepped on so many of them that the bottoms of my feet don’t even feel pain anymore. And Lucy …”

His voice got a bit softer when the subject turned to Lucy.

I was almost fascinated by the change in his voice, his facial expression.

I’d never seen him like this before. Then again, I normally went out of my way to avoid him.

“She’s like you, actually. She’s smart. Almost too smart for her own good.

But she’s not a nerd. And she loves to pick fights with her brother.

They can spend all day fighting about who’s more annoying.

But you can tell that they love each other.

“And now … now they’re even better. Lucy is going to a dental internship in New Orleans next month, and Adam has a new girlfriend. I think she’s the second one this year,” he said with a laugh. “Or maybe third. I couldn’t really tell.”

“I thought …” Leaning forward, I stared at him. “I thought you don’t keep in touch anymore. How do you know all that?”

“You’re not the only one who’s good at stalking.”

For a split second, I thought he was talking about Ryan and Ian, and all I could do was blink wordlessly at him. “I don’t—what are you—”

“Mom told me that you check on Lucy and Adam’s Instagram accounts all the time.

In secret. I do, too.” He shook his head.

“I really should tell their mom that they post way too much stuff on their social media, but if they didn’t, then I wouldn’t be able to still be a part of their lives.

Even if it’s just a tiny invisible part. ”

Not even realizing what I was doing, I mirrored his position. Hands clasped together and arms pressing against my knees. “Do you miss them?”

Instead of answering me, Dad stared into space.

Or at least I thought he was until I followed his gaze.

He was watching a little two-year-old girl and her dad across the lobby.

The little girl seemed determined to climb up her dad’s leg like a monkey.

At first glance, he looked like he was ignoring her, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching until finally he grabbed her under her arms and swung her around.

Her sweet laughter echoed through the entire lobby, making everyone smile along with her.

So did Dad. “Did you know that Lucy’s team won the regional Science Bowl a few months ago?”

I did. She posted about it for weeks both before and after their win. There was even a post about her family and how she—

“She thanked her dad. Her other dad,” Dad softly said without looking over at me. “Her mom remarried pretty soon after we got divorced. To a friend of mine. A good friend, so it wasn’t like she married a complete stranger. And I’m happy for them. I really am. But … I do miss them. A lot.”

“Then why don’t you call them? Or see them?”

“’Cause I think they’re probably mad at me.

” He let out a soft laugh. “No, I know they are. Even when we were still a family, we didn’t—I wasn’t a good dad.

We weren’t happy. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were happy when we split up.

That’s partially why I’m determined to make it work with your mom.

And with you. To make sure I don’t mess up my family like I did before. ”

I swallowed at the lump in my throat. Now that I could see how vulnerable he was, guilt burned away at me at all the times I avoided him. Blamed him for no reason. “Lucy seems very cool. I wish I was as motivated as her. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life.”

“You’ll get there someday. It’s not a requirement to have things figured out right now.” He shook his head. “In fact, I think it’s better that you don’t know what to do yet. This way, you can grow a bit first and live life. It’s better than rushing into a decision and regretting it later on.”

“You mean it’s okay if I just drive along aimlessly and waste gas?”

“It’s not wasting gas if you’re moving. Sometimes just the drive alone can be good enough.”