“Your boyfriend has been nervous working with me the past couple of days.”

Tell me something I didn’t know. I think we were both still afraid that everything had gone too easily and something would go wrong. “I know. He just…he doesn’t want to feel like he’s letting you down. I think Will feels like he’s let down a lot of people he cares about, even though that’s not something anyone else would see in him. And this job means a lot to him.”

“Yeah, but he was willing to walk away from it for you.” Dad raised a brow at me.

Warmth spread through my chest at the thought. “I know. I’m lucky.”

Dad frowned. “That’s not what I meant. You deserve that, someone who cares about you that much. If you want to look at it as if you’re lucky, then he is too because he has a man who would never let him do that. You’d risk your own happiness for his, the way he would for you.”

“Yeah,” I replied, looking down at the menu. This was so weird. I’d never talked about guys with my dad before. Granted, I’d never had a guy to talk to him about, but even if I had, I didn’t see us sitting down for a little boy chitchat.

“Here you go.” The waitress set down our drinks. “Are you ready to order?”

Dad looked at me, and when I nodded, he signaled for me to go ahead. I got a grilled chicken sandwich, and he ended up ordering the same. When she was gone again, I said, “We have to find a way to make this work. I need to know that you can keep my relationship completely separate from Will’s working relationship with you. Even when we break up.”

Dad’s brows furrowed. “When? You’re already counting the two of you out? Hmm, I thought you loved him.”

“What? I do!” I was ridiculously in love with him. “I just…I’m me, and this is my first relationship, and I can’t stop myself from thinking that he’ll find someone better, or he’ll get frustrated because I don’t like to go out as much as him, or if I get sidetracked with school in the fall. I’m…different.”

Dad sighed. “Look at me.” When I didn’t move, Dad repeated, “Look at me.” I did. “Don’t ever count yourself out because you think you’re different. Don’t ever think there’s anything you can’t accomplish or you can’t have, because there’s not. There’s nothing you can’t do. You’re more put together than I ever was at your age. Hell, if it wasn’t for your mother, I don’t know if I’d be where I am. You don’t need Will. You love him, and I’m glad you have him, but you don’t need him. I’m always in awe of the man you are. You call it different, I call it better. Hold your head high. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re less than you are, even your own voice in your head.”

“I…” Didn’t know what to say. There was so much conviction in his voice. It was different from when we’d spoken in his office a few weeks back. “Did you use to feel that way?”

“I doubted myself every damn day. I still do sometimes. But don’t set yourself up to fail before you give yourself and Will a chance.”

He was right, of course he was. “I’m working on it.”

“And I’m promising you right now that Will’s job doesn’t depend on your relationship status, but I don’t think we need to worry about that. The kid is crazy about you.”

“Yeah, yeah he is,” I admitted. It wasn’t easy to say, and the small whisper in the back of my brain was a little shocked the words had left my mouth, but…I knew Will, and I could see how he felt about me. It was hard to believe, but for whatever reason, he was crazy about me, the same way I was about him.

“There ya go. Own that shit.” Dad winked, making me laugh. “But we have to make sure we’re always okay as well. You tell me that I need to separate your relationship from Will at work, but you have to do the same. I don’t want to come between you, and I damn sure don’t want his job to come between us.”

“It won’t. I swear. I know it won’t be easy, but he’s worth it. You’re worth it. You’re the best dad there is. Even if we have a bad day, I’ll always remember that. Bad days are a part of life, you’ve always told me that, but we push through and fight for the better ones.”

Dad nodded. “That we do.”

“I’m nervous…about dinner with his family,” I admitted. As soon as I said the words, I realized how much I wanted this kind of relationship with my dad, where I could talk to him about what I was feeling.

Tags: Riley Hart Stumbling into Love Romance
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