I take her hand in mine and smile. “No, Chloe. I’m good. Are you okay?”
Chloe nods then, her eyes shiny with both unshed tears and questions. I’m not really prepared to face them, but that’s the way parenthood goes a lot of the time, I’d guess. I might as well get prepared now…just in case.
“Are you…” she starts to ask, obviously unsure how to word it. “Did you and my dad…”
Yikes. How to tiptoe through this delicate web…
“Yes. I think. If you’re asking what I think you’re asking.”
Chloe snorts a little laugh and almost smiles. “It, like, couldn’t be someone else’s, you know, baby…”
I shake my head vehemently. “If there’s a baby—and there may be no baby…” I qualify, shocked by the feeling of disappointment that follows. “But if there’s a baby, it wouldn’t be anyone else’s. Physically impossible.”
She nods and, surprising me greatly, smiles huge.
I don’t know what to make of her happiness at the possibility, but I choose not to make anything of it that’s not good. Emotionally—mentally—that’s all I can handle at this point.
My front door bangs open suddenly, handle hitting the wall stopper with a thud, and Chloe and I both jerk to look that way. We left the bedroom door open, obviously not expecting any intruders, so I push her behind me quickly and grab the first thing I can find from the counter.
I doubt my curling iron is going to do a lot of good protecting us, but it’s the only thing I’ve got.
Chloe squeals behind me, and I reach back to squeeze her wrist in comfort before yelling out, “Who’s there?”
“Phil Fields,” my dad booms out from just outside the bedroom door, and I sag in relief. Anger builds in its wake.
“Jesus, Dad! You almost scared the life out of us!” I accuse. “First, kidnapping, and now, breaking and entering—”
My tirade comes to a screeching halt as he crosses the threshold of my bedroom and smirks, tugging at the lapels of his fancy black suit.
“Mm-hmm,” he coos. “Figured the penguin getup would shut your trap.”
Chloe giggles behind me.
“What…what are you doing?”
“Takin’ you to the party,” he says matter-of-factly. “What else?”
“Dad, this is a work function—”
“Ah, horseshit,” he cuts me off. “This is my baby girl’s shot at love. If she doesn’t cock it up, that is.”
I roll my eyes as he continues.
“Which is the other part of why I’m here. Want to make sure you don’t wimp out.”
“Dad,” I say, gritting my teeth now as Chloe laughs. “This is Jake’s daughter.”
“Jake?”
“Yes, Dad. Jake.”
He nods.
“Jake, Dad. You know, the guy.”
He chuckles then, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, I know. Just wanted to see how many times I could make you say it.”
Chloe snorts, grabbing the curling iron from my hand and plugging it in so she can get to work on her hair. “Oh man, Holley. Your dad and my dad are going to get along great.”
Phil laughs, and I roll my eyes to the heavens again. Chloe’s right. I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m so comfortable with all of Jake’s teasing.
“I’ll just be in the living room,” my dad offers then. “You ladies finish getting ready. I’ve got a jar of pickles ready and waiting in the Buick if we need ’em.”
Chloe’s eyebrows knit in confusion, but I shake my head. “Trust me, it’s a long story.”
She giggles, but hope makes her amber eyes sparkle. “I can’t wait to hear it one day.”
I nod. I sure as hell hope Jake’s receptive to my apology and I get the chance to tell it.
All I can do now is be me and tell Jake the truth.
“Come on,” I say with a smile. “Let’s get your makeup done.”Chloe laughs again in the back seat, ever entertained by Phil as I sink my head into my hands and try not to cry. He’s been a one-man show for the last half hour on our way to the venue, filling the ride with tales of my misadventures as a child and beyond. The one good thing I can say for it is that until this moment, it’s kept me pretty distracted from the shitshow I’m about to walk into.
Phil leans over and grabs my hands, pulling them away from my eyes as I feel the car rock to a stop. His smile is kind and loving and confirms without a shadow of a doubt that distraction is exactly what he was going for.
“Don’t know much about makeup, but I figure it probably don’t like your hands all over it, girl.”
I sigh and laugh at the same time. “Probably not. Does it still look okay?” Phil surveys me closely, but when it becomes frighteningly clear that he’s not going to be able to give me a credible answer, I turn to face Chloe.
She nods enthusiastically. “You look terrific.”
I smile my thanks and let out a deep exhale. “I guess it’s go time, then.”