Riley answered as soon as the call connected. “Dad? Is everything okay? I’m not late, am I?”
“No,” Nate replied, shaking his head even though she couldn’t see him. “I just wanted to ask you a question.”
“Okay…” She sounded suspicious. “Shoot.”
“Do you like Ally?”
There was silence, followed by laughter. “Oh, Dad, of course I do. I love Ally. That’s why I think it’s crazy that you won’t talk to her. But it’s your life.”
His heart began to pound against his chest. “I think… I mean I thought…” Oh God, this was harder than he thought. What was it that Grant Sutton had said about connecting with his daughter? It was all about communication. Okay, then. He took a deep breath. “I thought you might resent her. That she was taking my attention away from you. And maybe that’s why you left for Boston.”
“Dad, hold up a minute. I’m going outside.” He waited until she spoke again, her voice less muted now. “Okay, listen to me. I went to Boston because I’m stupid. I’m a teenager and I make mistakes. And yeah, I was pretty grossed out when I saw you and Ally, but what kid wouldn’t be? I’d have been like that if I’d seen Mom with somebody, too. But none of this is Ally’s fault. In fact, me feeling better is thanks to her and you. You guys made me feel like I was part of something again. Like a kind of family or something.” She cleared her throat. “So, no, I didn’t leave for Boston because of you and Ally. I left because I was stupid and sometimes I make the worst decisions.”
Yeah, well that made two of them.
“I think that’s the most you’ve said to me in a while,” Nate said. His eyes were stinging and he blinked to try and soothe them.
“Yeah, well don’t get used to it. I’m a teenager, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“Was that all you wanted to ask me?”
“Ah, no. There’s one more thing,” Nate told her.
“What?”
“Have you got your keys? Because I might not be here when you get home.”
31
Nate pulled his car into a gap between an old truck and a fancy black sedan and shifted it into park. The sun had almost slipped beneath the horizon, leaving only a ghost of orange blazing and dancing on the ocean waves, a contrast to the indigo expanse of sky above.
With the ignition off he could hear music coming up from the beach. Something with a heavy beat. Beneath it was a low level of chatter interspersed by the occasional tinkle of laughter that cut through the air.
She was here. Knowing she was so close made him feel relieved and anxious at the same time. But more than anything it made him determined – the same kind of determination that had made him search for her in the first place. He’d spent half the evening driving around town until he bumped into Lorne and Ally’s dad at the bar, and discovered Ally was at Delmonico’s on Paxton’s pier, celebrating Ember’s birthday.
He climbed out of his car, pressing the key to lock it, then walked over to the wooden pier that jutted into the ocean.
Delmonico’s was full, diners spilling out onto the veranda that circled the building. Nate glanced at them, but he couldn’t see her anywhere – she must be inside. He pushed at the glass door, stepping inside, and looked around the tables.
He spotted her almost immediately, sitting between her two closest friends. There had to be at least twenty people at the table, drinking champagne and laughing together.
Ally was sitting in a dining chair, her leg stretched out in front of her, the cast resting on the wooden floor. In the gloom of the interior she seemed to shine like a star. Her blonde hair glistening, her skin glowing. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her.
She was so beautiful.
She blinked as though somebody had called her name, even though everybody was busy chatting. Slowly she turned her head, the smallest of frowns pulling at her brow. Her lips opened as she looked over at him.
He could hear his pulse as it rushed through his ears. Ally’s bottom lip opened a little more, the lines between her eyes deepened. But her eyes – those beautiful, expressive eyes – didn’t move from his face.
Nate walked forward, moistening his lip with his tongue, his eyes never leaving Ally’s face. “Hi,” he said when he reached her.
“Hi.” She blinked, her eyes full of questions.
“I was wondering if we could talk.”
She glanced around the table, her eyes guarded. “I think our food will be out soon.”