I’d been joking, but apparently Macie wasn’t. She went into Sebastian’s office, pulled out a bottle, and then headed to the kitchen to make two coffees and stirred in the creamy liquor.
Back out in the living room, we sat together on the couch.
“I’m mortified by what I said.” I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know what came over me. Obviously, I didn’t know you were his sister-in-law. I just saw you going into his bedroom to change, and you’d said you were usually the one pushing yourself on him and . . . I just . . . I’m so sorry.”
She waved me off. “No big deal. I get it. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably have done the same thing. Maybe worse. I once caught my ex-boyfriend cheating on me and yanked off his plaything’s bad extensions.”
I laughed yet still felt nervous. “Thank you.”
Macie sipped her coffee. “So . . . how long have you two been seeing each other?”
I shook my head. “We aren’t. Well, not really. We just . . . The other night we . . . And then . . .”
Macie put her hand up. “No explanation needed. My brother-in-law is a complicated man. I miss my sister something fierce, and I know she and Sebastian loved each other. But I know she’d want him to move on. He’s grieved long enough. I couldn’t help but notice that you and Birdie really seem to have a strong bond.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I think we do. I lost my mom when I was little, about her age actually. So I feel like I can relate to a lot of what she’s going through . . . the simple things . . . not having a woman to go clothes shopping with her, do her hair, just have those moments a girl and her mom have.”
Macie frowned. “I should’ve come down more often the last few years.”
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to imply she didn’t have you.” I felt my face flush with embarrassment. “I just keep putting my foot in my mouth with you today.”
She smiled sadly. “It’s fine. I just feel bad because you’re a hundred percent right. Sometimes the truth hurts to hear, but that’s not your fault. My niece is missing out on those moments with her mother and should have a woman role model.” Her eyes searched my face. “I saw that in you today. She looks up to you.”
“She’s a great girl.”
Macie caught my gaze. “She is. And I take it you like her dad?”
It felt really odd to be having this conversation with his dead wife’s sister, but she was being so nice after I was a total jerk. So I was honest. I nodded. “He’s a really great guy and a special dad.”
“Can I offer you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“If you think there’s something there . . . don’t be nervous to push a bit. A lot of men are afraid of commitment, but Sebastian isn’t one of them. He’s a for better or for worse kind of guy. Unfortunately, life gave him a few more worses than betters lately. The problem with him is, his decisions don’t just affect him, obviously. And he’s afraid to make decisions that might hurt his daughter.”
I smiled. “I did push a bit last week. And while we moved forward in that moment, he seems to have taken four steps away from me after it happened.”
“So if he took four back . . . then you take two forward and make him take two forward. Have you two been out on a date yet?”
I shook my head.
“Try starting there. Baby steps.”
I sighed. “I don’t know.”
Macie patted my hand. “You’ll figure it out. In the meantime, thank you for being there for my niece.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
We finished our coffees, and then Macie walked me to the door.
“Oh. One more thing . . . tomorrow I’m taking Birdie to brunch and a play in the city. It’s a surprise, but we’re seeing The Lion King. Just the two of us.”
I smiled. “That’s great. I’m sure she’ll love that.”
“Yes. We’re leaving about ten. We won’t be back until at least seven. Sebastian goes into the restaurant about three on Sundays. So he’ll be home all alone from ten to three.” She winked. “I thought maybe you might want to know that.”The next morning, I kept going back through my conversation with Macie over and over again. Maybe she was right. In hindsight, my dad could have used a little push. He’d spent so many years worrying about doing the right thing for me and feeling guilty over moving on. I wish a woman who cared about him had pushed him a bit to find some happiness for himself.
So I took a deep breath and picked up my phone. Without allowing any further debate, I shot off a text and immediately hit “Send.” Except in my haste to get the message out before I changed my mind, I hadn’t noticed the typo.