“Of course I do! She’s the best. Really, Dad. You picked well.”
He looked relieved but then he noticed the hesitation in her expression. “But?”
She thought about the best way to word what she’d wanted to ask him for the past five days. Maybe she should just keep it simple and use the direct approach. “So what made you change? What made you go from this guy who, and sorry if I offend you here, but this guy who ran around chasing supermodels to a guy who wants to settle down and watch Jeopardy with the missus in front of the fire?”
He didn’t look offended at all. “It’s simple, Kitten. Love is what made me change. Once upon a time, I loved your mother and we had a good run, but in the end, we were all wrong as a couple. But Sharon and me, it’s like we were always meant to find each other. I know it seems scary, getting married after only three months, but nothing has ever felt so right.”
If her dad stayed in town much longer, she’d have to get her tear ducts refilled. She swiped away the dampness on her cheek. “Oh, Daddy, that’s so beautiful.”
He smiled, then almost instantly became more serious.
“I’ll be honest; I’m worried about you, Kitten. Steve seems like a really nice fellow. Shoot, he’s even hosting the rehearsal dinner and he’s been practically a one-man army when it comes to pulling this wedding together, but I want you to know that I don’t plan to leave town until I’ve had a long talk with him.”
Kitty froze. “About what?”
“About his intentions, of course.”
Oh my God. “Daddy, please tell me you’re joking. In two days, I’m going to be thirty-six years old. I don’t need my father talking to my boyfriend. My live-in boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry, but I think you do. You’re my little girl and I don’t want to see you hurt by someone who might not share the same depth of feelings for you that you do for them.”
This was crazy! First her mother, now her…
“Have you been talking to Mom about me?”
“Actually, we have. It’s been good communicating with your mother directly after all these years.”
“Well, hurray for you two! Just please tell me you haven’t decided to make her the flower girl.”
Dad frowned. “Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Kitten.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Sorry, but really, Dad, I’ve got my personal life under control.”
“Not according to your friends, or those Gray Pelicans I met at The Bistro this morning.”
“They’re Flamingos, not pelicans. And…what do you mean not according to them? What friends are you talking about?”
“You know, Shea and Pilar and all those lovely Bunco gals. By the way, I’m so glad that they’ll be at the wedding. The more the merrier, I say! I want as many people as possible to witness the beginning of my new life with Sharon.”
“Yeah, well, as many people as possible won’t be able to fit in my house for the reception. Plus, we only ordered twenty pounds of shrimp.” The waiter showed up with a hot order of the calamari but Kitty had lost her appetite. “So, what? Have you been having some kind of secret meetings with my friends behind my back?” she halfway joked. When he didn’t say anything, she gasped. “Oh, God. You have been having secret meetings!”
“Not so secret, and it was only one meeting. The whole town is worried about you, hon. I have to say, I never thought much about this sleepy little backwater town before, but I’m impressed by the way everyone seems to take care of one another. Everyone in Whispering Bay loves you, Kitty.”
Everyone except Steve, apparently.
She placed her head between her hands and let what he’d just said sink in. “Do you know how embarrassing this is?”
“Now, Kitten, there’s no reason to be embarrassed. I’m a man and I know how other men think. I just want to make sure this guy isn’t going to hurt you.”
Her birthday might be in two days, but she suddenly felt ten years older. “Daddy, please let me take care of this, okay?”
; He sighed. “I don’t know—”
“Promise me you aren’t going to talk to Steve,” she insisted. She wanted to be angry. She was angry! But a part of her was also touched. Wasn’t this what fathers were supposed to do? Look out for their daughters? Even though this daughter didn’t want to be looked out for. Plus, this was his special day. The day they were bonding as father and daughter, groom and best man. No, she couldn’t be totally angry with him.
He looked at her sadly. “All right, I won’t say anything to him, but I want you to know that Sharon and I will always be here for you. No matter what happens.”