“No. I’m glad you are. I want to know. I—” She stopped when her phone vibrated on the side table. Lock reached over andhanded it to her, and she gasped when she saw who it was. “Dang it.”
“What?”
“It’s Dad. I forgot he’s coming to my house for breakfast this morning—in ten minutes. Crap!”
“Want me to drop you off?”
She frowned. Did she want him to drop her off?
She shook her head. “No. I want you to join us.”
Lock shota glance at Callie as she ran her finger over a seam in her leggings in the passenger seat. It had been a mad rush to shower and throw on clothes before heading to her house, and even though she’d said she wanted him to come, he wondered if she was changing her mind.
“You’re nervous.”
Her gaze shot up. “No. Not nervous. I…okay, maybe a little nervous. I just don’t know what he’ll say about us. He was fine when you picked me up from the studio yesterday, but that was you protecting me. I don’t know what he’ll say when we tell him we’re back together.”
“Will it bother you if he doesn’t approve?” Shit, would that be a deal breaker for her? The thought tasted like acid in his mouth.
“It’s not that it would bother me. Dad just…he worries about me. More since everything happened. And I don’t like worrying him after his diagnosis.”
Lock reached over and slipped his fingers through hers. “Guess I’d better show him I’m the best man for you then.”
She smiled but it wasn’t wide enough to convince him that she was okay.
He pulled up in the drive of her house to see her father’s car already on the street. He climbed out of his truck and moved around to her side.
“I just need you to know one thing before we go in there,” she said quietly as they stopped at the front door.
Shit. Was it something bad? “Anything.”
“I’m okay now. I wasn’t back then, but now, after some time has passed and being here with you, having you know the truth…I am.”
Was she telling him this because she’d been worse than he could have imagined, and her father might tell him that?
Fuck, he hated that thought.
He cupped her cheek. “You sure you’re okay now?”
“The past will always hurt. But it won’t stop me from being happy now.”
The door opened, and Aspen stood on the other side, a huge-ass smile on her face. “Well, hello. It’s so nice of you two to finally grace us with your presence.”
Callie rolled her eyes and slipped around Aspen to go inside. “Are you saying that because you missed me?”
“Of course. I missed you too, Lock, or at least your morning coffee.” Aspen’s smile widened at him. “Good night last night?”
His lips twitched, but luckily the question didn’t require a response, because Aspen was already turning and heading into the house.
Lock stepped inside and closed the door after him.
The smell of bacon and eggs hung in the air, a plate of waffles already on the table.
“While you two have been…sleeping, I made waffles,” Aspen sung as she moved to the kitchen.
Jude rose from a stool at the counter and kissed his daughter on the cheek before studying her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great, Dad. In fact…” She turned to look at Lock, bottom lip disappearing between her teeth. “Lock and I have something to share.” She stepped beside him, and he slipped an arm around her waist. “We’re back together,” Callie said quietly.
