Page 33 of Truth or More Truth (Throwback RomComs #3)

thirty-one

. . .

“ T old you he’s a good guy.” Wendy smirks at me and then takes a giant bite of her disgusting-looking ice cream float—chocolate ice cream with orange soda and strawberry syrup.

“Lunch” for Wendy apparently means her nasty float and mustard-covered fries. Randall is downing a double bacon cheeseburger like he hasn’t eaten in a week. I’m only picking at my club sandwich and chips. I don’t really feel like eating.

“Yes,” I tap a chip on my plate, “I already knew he was a good guy, but thanks for reiterating.”

Wendy narrows her eyes. “There’s no need to get snippy with me.”

“She’s not being snippy,” Randall chides. “She’s confused. Give her a break. Imagine if I sprang a thirteen-year-old daughter and a backyard ex-wife on you after knowing you for eight months.”

“All right. I get your point.” Wendy then eyes me as she shovels in more of her float and I almost gag. “How do you feel about all of this?”

“I think I’m more attracted to him now than I was before.

Who knew I was into single dads? But there’s a lot at stake, most notably when it comes to Kelli.

What if she gets attached to me, and then we break up?

And then there’s his ex. He says there’s nothing between them anymore, but how do I know that?

How can I trust what he says? The last man I trusted betrayed me in the worst way. ”

“I’ve seen them together,” Randall says, “when I was in L.A. for my bachelor party. Nanette and Kelli joined us for lunch, and I’ll admit I was watching her carefully to see if what Bobby had said was true—that they’re just friends, because I was skeptical—and I saw nothing to make me think otherwise.

They interacted like …,” he tapped his chin as he thought, “well, to compare them to people we know, like me and Leslie. We’re completely ourselves with each other, and we love each other, but as friends and now siblings, not anything else. ”

“That’s reassuring,” I say, a bit relieved by his assessment of that situation, though not completely. “But that aside, with his life being centered in California, and mine being here, it’s difficult to see how we could be together long-term.”

“You’re set on staying in Chicago, then?” Wendy asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I mean, I was. If you’d asked me ten days ago if I’d move across the country for a man, I’d have given you a resounding no.

It’s still a half-resounding no. I can’t make that kind of decision after spending a handful of days with someone.

Ultimately, I guess I’m open to moving if I’m in love and can imagine myself marrying the guy, but I’m not at that point with Bobby.

And I’m not going to rush into anything, especially considering my last relationship. ”

“He’s not Jeremy,” Wendy states. “I can’t see Bobby being a cheater—not with Nanette or anyone else. And you knew Jeremy for a long time, anyway, so that argument doesn’t hold much water.”

“I know, but that situation has made me a bit wary when it comes to men. ”

“Men can be total pigs.” This comes from the man at the table just before he takes a giant bite of his burger and a dollop of ketchup drops onto his light-blue oxford shirt.

Wendy and I both burst into laughter.

“What?” Randall says after he swallows. “It’s true. We all have the ability. Some of us have just learned to mostly bury that tendency.”

“But not always?” I tease as his wife tries to wipe the ketchup off his shirt but makes more of a mess of it.

Wendy rolls her eyes. “Definitely not always. But back to you and Bobby. If Kelli already knows about you, and you decide not to date her dad, she might think she’s the reason why. So that’s not great for her, either.”

I groan. “Thanks for pointing out that no matter what I do, I’m going to hurt his kid.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Wendy protests and then tilts her head, “though you make a good point. But my point is that while it’s great you’re thinking about her feelings, she’s going to have feelings no matter what you choose.

And you can’t control or predict her feelings.

Honestly, you can never control anyone’s feelings, but especially not a teenage girl’s.

But you can control what you decide to do, and ultimately, you need to do what you think is best for you .

Is seeing where things could go with Bobby what’s best for you? ”

I really want to try and see if it can work.

It’s odd that even though Bobby and I are so different, he seems to get me—the real me that’s silly and fun, not the professional work version of me.

Jeremy never truly understood me, so I hid that part of myself, which obviously wasn’t a great move.

And I think I get Bobby, too, even though I’ve only known the full version of him for about fourteen hours.

I also miss him more than I thought it was possible to miss anyone.

“You’re thinking hard over there.” Randall pops a fry into his mouth. He was smart enough to order his own fries today.

“I think it is what’s best for me.”

Wendy waves a fry in the air, flinging mustard onto Randall’s hair in the process. “Yessss! Go home and call him now. ”

I chuckle at her enthusiasm. “Maybe I’ll finish lunch first.”

She flicks her hand at my plate. “You’re not eating it anyway. Get a doggie bag and take it home with you. And then call him!”

“Hello?”

I’m briefly startled to hear a girl’s voice come through the phone line, but it should’ve occurred to me that Kelli might answer the phone at Bobby’s house.

“Hi, is this Kelli?”

“Yeeees. Is this Melissa?” Her voice is full of glee and maybe a little mischief.

“It sure is. Is your dad there?”

“No, he went to go pick up my mom from the hospital. He said it would be a lot of sitting around and waiting, so I decided to stay here and sit around and watch Can’t Buy Me Love while I wait.”

How did I forget Nanette was coming home today? I should’ve waited a few days to call, like Bobby had suggested.

“I’m so glad she’s coming home and that she’ll be OK.”

I’m not sure what else to say. I don’t feel right having a conversation with Bobby’s daughter before I talk to him. Does he want me to talk to her and get to know her yet? I don’t know how to navigate this.

“Thanks. Are you going to date my dad?”

Laughter bursts out of me at her question.

“I love that you just came out and asked that, but I think maybe I need to tell him the answer to that question first.” It occurs to me that if I spend any more time talking to her now, she’ll guess my answer, and I truly do need to talk to Bobby first. “Could you ask him to call me when he has time? It doesn’t need to be today.

I know you’ll all be busy getting your mom settled. ”

“Oh, he’ll have time for you,” she says meaningfully. I can hear the grin in her voice.

I stifle another laugh. “All right. Tell him I’ll be out for a few hours this evening but should be home by 8:30 my time. ”

“I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks. It’s been nice talking to you, Kelli.”

“You, too. And I look forward to talking to you again … and again … and again.”

I allow myself to chuckle at her. “We’ll see. Bye, Kelli.”

“Hey, I hope it’s not too late to call,” Bobby’s voice comes through the line.

A smile blooms on my face as I lie in my bed staring at the ceiling. “Not at all. I’m a night owl.” I may be in bed, but I’ve been reading the latest Anne Rice vampire book for the last hour.

“Good to know.”

“Is it?” I twist the phone cord around my finger.

“You tell me. Will that knowledge be useful in my future?”

I close my eyes and imagine Bobby in the bed next to me. “It will.” I shiver involuntarily.

He lets out a breath loud enough I can hear it. “Very good to know.”

“Is it?” I tease.

“Indeed it is. Did Kelli tell you anything inappropriate about me when you talked to her earlier?”

I giggle. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I truly would, but if you girls need to keep your secrets, I get it.”

“You do?”

“Teenage daughter, remember?”

“Hard to forget that. She was very nice to me on the phone, by the way. And she didn’t say much other than she was sure you’d make time to call me today. She also asked if I was going to date you.”

Bobby laughs, and my heart stutters. I wish I was with him in person, feeling his laugh rumbling through me as he held me tight.

“Of course she did,” he says. “She doesn’t beat around the bush, much like another woman I know. But just to clarify, you do want to date me?”

“I do.” I bite my lip. “I want to try to make this work.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m not sure what that means, though. Do we talk on the phone every day?

Or is that too much? How do we deal with the time zone difference?

When’s a good time of day for you to talk?

And how often do we visit each other? Do you have a work trip planned to come here?

At what point would you want me to meet Kelli and her mom? ”

“Whoa, there, Trigger. That’s a lot of questions I don’t have the answers to.”

“I’m not sure if I find it endearing or insulting that you’re comparing me to Roy Rogers’ horse.”

“Well, you kind of look like?—”

A horse? “Hey, now! No need to?—”

He cuts in loudly, “I was going to say Dale Evans with dark hair.”

That shuts me up for a few seconds while I think about it. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t see it, but whatever floats your boat.”

“You float my boat.”

My face heats and I fan it with my free hand. “And when is your boat going to be floating this way? ”

“I hope to come later this week, but I want to make sure Nanette is settled and doing well with Opal before I make any firm plans. As for you coming here, let’s hold off on that for now.

I’d like us to spend more time getting to know each other before getting Kelli any more involved than she already is. ”

“I get that. She was downright ecstatic on the phone earlier. Speaking of, how often do you want to talk? Is every day too much, with everything going on in your life?”

“Not if it’s OK for me to call you late like this. With work and family stuff, I’m usually on the go without much of a break all day, but once Kelli’s tucked away in her room for the night, I should have time most nights unless I have a client emergency or am in the air. What about you?”

“I’m home most nights these days, especially with my two closest friends now being married.

” I wonder if he knows about the baby yet.

“I hope I can still spend an evening or two with one or both of them each week, but we’ll see how well that plan works out once Leslie and Ash are home from their honeymoon. ”

“And once Randall and Wendy move and then add another little person into the mix.”

I smile at the thought of my friends as soon-to-be parents. “They told you?”

“They did, and they said you knew, so I knew it was OK to mention it. I’m happy for them.”

“Me, too.”

I must sound a little wistful, because Bobby says, “I know we briefly discussed whether we each want future kids when we were in Arkansas, but can we do it again now that you know about Kelli? Does that change anything for you, if marriage could be in our future?”

“No. I’d still like a couple kids.” My mind flashes back to the image in my head when Diego mentioned me having Bobby’s babies, and I smile. “And based on my own experience as an only child, I’m thinking Kelli might not mind being a big sister.”

“She would love being a big sister more than anything other than maybe her mom being perfectly healthy and me being home every night. And I’m open to having more kids, though I’d prefer for it to happen in the next five years or so.

I can’t imagine dealing with all the sleepless nights and diaper blowouts and chasing after a toddler and everything else that comes with parenting little people when I’m much older than that. ”

“That makes sense.” I don’t mention it’s good to know he plans on being an involved parent if he has more kids. My dad wasn’t really part of my day-to-day life, which was common for men of his generation, but I’d like a more balanced parenting approach in my own marriage.

“Not that parenting is easy when you have a teenager,” he says with a chuckle. “In some ways it’s harder, but it’s not as physically taxing.”