Vegas With Dad's Best Friend

“I’m not doing it lightly,” I tell him. I stretch and kiss him for a moment. “I want this. And my plans… they weren’t set in stone. They never had to be. If I change my mind, I can change it again. It’s not like I’m turning down some huge opportunity to stay with you. If anything, this is the perfect time in my life to give this a try.”

“Then I’m glad,” Jonas says, taking my hand. “I was trying all night to think of ways to convince you to stay here with me.”

“You didn’t even need to convince me,” I say, kissing him again. “I was sold from the moment you saved me on the street.”

And as sweet as all of this is, there’s one last thing playing on my mind even now.

If I don’t go home my family is going to want to know why.

Which means it’s time to let my dad know that I’ve fallen for his best friend.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jonas

Dressed and looking more composed, I sit down on the couch beside Savannah. She reaches over to grasp my hand for a moment and squeeze it tight, then let’s go.

I can’t believe we’re actually doing this – but it’s not like there is any other way.

“Are you ready?” I ask. But I know that neither of us can ever truly be ready to do this – despite the nervous nod she gives me.

Even so, it’s something that we have to do if we want to spend the rest of our lives together – and I’m not willing to give that up for anyone.

I reach out and tap a button on the front of my phone. I’ve set up my cell on a small stand on the coffee table, pointing towards both of us. And the call I have set up is a video call so that the person we need to talk to most can both see and hear us. I have the sense that it is the only way we're going to be able to convince them that we are serious.

It is a nervous wait for the call to connect. It rings and rings, and for a long awful moment, I think that he’s not going to answer. That we will have no option but to sit here calling and calling over and again until he finally picks up, which might be so late in the day that he’s already at the airport waiting for his daughter.

Finally, though, it connects – and a puzzled face that I once knew very well appears on the screen.

“Jonas?” he says. “Is that you? What are you calling for?”

“Well,” I start, but he’s already interrupting me.

“Hold on – is that Savannah?”

“Hi, Dad,” Savannah says, lifting her hand and waving at him.

“What… I was just about to start getting ready to come and get you from the airport. Shouldn’t you be on the way to your flight by now?”

“Yes, well, that’s the thing,” Savannah says. She’s clasping her hands tightly in front of herself, and I get the feeling that she’s holding in more nerves than I can tell. “I’m not actually getting on the plane, Dad.”

“What?” he says again, then frowns at the camera. He’s been walking around holding us in the palm of his hand, the background swaying wildly behind him, but now he shakes his head. “Just let me get somewhere quiet and sit down for a minute.”

There’s an anxious wait as he does just that. Savannah and I exchange a nervous glance. I want to reach out and hold her, but at this moment it wouldn’t be appropriate. We have to break it to him piece by piece, let him comprehend everything. It’s going to be a lot to take in.

“Alright,” he says, sitting down now in what is obviously a living room. He’s on a white couch, and on the wall behind him, I can just see the bottom of a family portrait. This is going to be tough. “What’s this about not getting the flight? Has something happened?”

“Yes, but not a bad thing,” Savannah says. She keeps glancing at me like she wants me to jump in for her. “It’s… well, I’m going to stay here a bit longer.”

“How much longer?” he asks, his face still held in a confused frown. “Why?”

“Look, the thing is,” I say, feeling like it’s a good time to take over. And a good time to drop the first bomb I need to drop. “Savannah and I – we met on her first day here, completely by chance. And the last few days have been a real whirlwind. I don’t know how it happened so fast, but it did. I’m in love with her, Greg. I’m in love with your daughter.”

He blinks at me from the screen, then a slow grin spreads across his face as he chuckles. “Nice joke, guys. You really had me going for a moment. So, is the flight delayed, or something?”