The Daddy Box Set

“I hope she got that on camera,” she said.

I laughed, again. “Me too.”

“How are you feeling about everything?” she asked me.

“I like him so much.” I didn’t think it through. This was probably something I shouldn’t have told my judgy little sister. Sometimes, she was a little too honest for my liking. It was almost as if she no longer had a filter, but I guessed that came with the territory of being a free spirit.

“What?” Ally said. I felt her studying my face as we watched Margie jump on Justin. I laughed. I was trying to avoid my sister’s gaze. I didn’t really know how to explain my feelings to her, but I knew I couldn’t ignore her forever.

I turned to Ally. I had to be honest with her because I needed to be honest with myself. “I like him a lot, Ally.”

“You need to be careful. Don’t forget about the arrangement you guys have.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said.

You can’t get too emotionally involved,” she added.

“I know. I’m not going to,” I said, trying to mask my irritation. I was beginning to master my ability to hide emotions from Ally. With everything she was throwing at me lately, I had to protect myself somehow.

“It looks like it’s already too late,” she said just as our mom walked up.

I was glad she was far enough away during our conversation. I couldn’t risk her asking too many questions. There was no way I would live that down and who knew how mad they would be at Justin for this.

“What are my girls talking about?” she asked.

“Anna was just telling me how much she likes Justin,” Ally said with a smirk. It was hard not reach over and smack the smug look off her face.

I looked over to where my dad was still playing with Justin and Margie. It was a sight to see, and I loved watching every moment of it. I didn’t want to tear my eyes away from them.

“You know, Anna,” my mom said, and I looked at her, giving her my full attention. “I can tell what you and Justin have is the real deal.”

“Really?” Ally asked, smirking.

“Yes. You’ll find yours one day,” mom said.

Little did she know that Ally couldn’t care less about having a real relationship. She was only asking the question to mess with me. Since she was the one who pointed out our feelings for each other in the first place, she was being all too smug. I only hoped that she was right about Justin.

“You two really do have something special. It reminds me of your dad and I when we first started dating. I was so nervous around him. I didn’t quite know if it was real or not. During the first month or so, I used to wonder if he even really liked me at all.”

It was crazy that my mom was explaining how she felt about my dad. It was exactly how I felt about Justin, with one real difference: they were actually dating, while Justin and I were just pretending to be.

It made me even more curious about his feelings for me. The kiss on the Ferris wheel felt so real, and no one was around to see it, so he couldn’t have done it for show.

“That’s so sweet,” I said to her.

We watched as my dad picked Margie up and swung her around. It made me nervous, which was weird because she wasn’t my child, but I cared about her all the same.

“I just love Margie,” my mom said. “How could I not? She’s so sweet, and I can see the twinkle in her eyes when she looks at you.”

“I know. I love her so much, too,” I said. I avoided looking at Ally because I didn’t want to deal with it.

Margie, Justin, and my dad walked over to where we stood watching them.

“Can we play some games?” Margie asked my mom.

“I think so, as long as it’s okay with your daddy,” my mom said.

Justin looked at Margie. “I don’t see why not. We’re here, aren’t we? It would be a crime not to get some cotton candy.”