“You impress me.”
“Thank you. Were you in love with him?”
“I thought I was.” She sighed. “I knew it was a long location shoot and not the real world, so I was careful. We started hanging out as friends, so when things got serious, I believed the things he said. But the whole time he was playing me.”
“That’s on him, not on you.”
“Maybe, but I’m the one who was hurt.”
Her father gave her a quick side hug as they continued walking. “And because of how busy you were with sports in high school, you never developed the romantic relationship skills you needed to handle the breakup. You deliberately avoided emotional relationships until you found yourself already in one. Then you couldn’t cope, so now you’re avoiding taking another chance.”
She stopped in the middle of the track and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not emotionally stunted,” she said loudly, even though she’d already admitted she was. “Or broken.”
“You’re many things, Victoria, butbrokenisn’t one of them. You’re wonderful and, in almost all things, one of the strongest women I know, but when it comes to matters of the heart, you lack courage.”
“Ouch.”
“I say that with love.”
“It still hurts.”
“I’m sorry.”
She glared at him. “You’re sorry I’m hurt, but you’re not sorry you said it,” she clarified.
“That’s correct.”
They started walking again. “If this is part of growing up, I don’t like it.”
“No one does, but the hard lessons have the biggest reward. I gave your mother your screenplay.”
She spun to face him. “You did what?” she shouted. “That was private.”
He actually rolled his eyes at her. “Is it private, or do you want to sell it? Because if you’re just writing to work through some issues, you’re going to need a little more in your life.”
“Dad!”
“If you mean to be a screenwriter, then you need to get used to the idea of people reading and critiquing your work. Your mother has a very good eye for talent. She used to look over every screenplay I was thinking of buying. Besides, the second you gave it to me, you knew I’d eventually pass it on to her.”
He kind of had a point about all of it, she thought grudgingly.
“I’ve made a lot of changes since that first version. Right now I’m ripping the whole thing apart, and I’m not sure how it’s going to go back together.”
“You can tell her that when you two talk about her notes.”
Notes from her mother? She could only imagine.
“I can’t believe you went behind my back and did that.”
“No, what you can’t believe is it took me so long to give it to her.”
She held in a smile. “Does it bother you to be so predictable?”
“Not when it comes to the women I love. Stability is important in a relationship.”
“Nothing rattles you, does it?”
He winked at her. “I have my moments, but this isn’t one of them.”
