“So this is a little weird.”
Victoria smiled at her. “The weirdest.”
Shannon sat down next to her. “I didn’t know what to expect when my mom told me about the dinner.”
“If you didn’t totally freak and beg to be anywhere but here, there’s something wrong with you.”
Shannon laughed. “Not in front of my mom, but one hundred percent on the inside. What a bizarre situation. I keep looking around, trying to imagine myself growing up here, and I can’t.” She paused and looked at Victoria. “Was it wrong for me to say that?”
“What? No. Of course not.” Victoria had no problem with Shannon in all this. She’d been a baby when all the drama had occurred. “I guess I never thought about it from your perspective. You’re about what could have been.” While she was in thewhat never wascamp.
“It’s funny how much you and your mom look like Ava,” she said to distract herself. “I’m the one not like the others.”
Shannon looked from her mother to Ava, then back at Victoria. “I didn’t notice that before, but you’re right. We’re all tall, blue-eyed blondes.” Her mouth twisted. “You get to be the sexy one.”
Victoria stared at her. “You’re kidding, right? You’re the ideal. I’m short.” She waved at her cast. “And limping.”
“Now, but the rest of the time, you’re the one everyone looks at. You have that energy.” She rolled her eyes. “There is no way I’ll believe you have trouble getting guys.”
Victoria waved away the comment. “You’re right. Guys are easy.”
“Javiar seems interested.”
She didn’t bother glancing in his direction. “It’s the stuntthing. Men don’t know what to make of it. They’re intrigued and put off at the same time. They like the danger and the fact that I’m not conventional, but they’re also worried I don’t have limits. Some guys want that, and some guys avoid it. To them, someone without limits is too unpredictable.”
“So you’ve put thought into this,” Shannon said with a laugh.
“I have plenty of downtime when I’m working.” She didn’t mention her screenplay. Working on it and taking writing classes had caused her to look at relationships differently as she tried to figure out why some worked and why some didn’t.
“Plus there’s the whole being a stuntwoman. There are plenty of men who don’t think it’s something a woman should be doing.”
She slapped her hand against her cast. “Of course, based on my recent mishap, maybe I should be agreeing with them rather than fighting against the tide. But I can’t help it. I’m not a rule-follower.”
Shannon sighed. “All I do is follow the rules. Except with college. I didn’t finish.”
Victoria heard regret and maybe a little shame in her voice. “And yet the world keeps turning,” she said cheerfully.
“It does.”
Her dad walked over and turned a chair so he was facing the two of them, then sat down.
“How are you two, ah, women doing?”
Victoria shook her head. “You were going to saygirls, weren’t you? We’re in our twenties.”
He winked at her. “You’ll always be my baby girl.”
“Nice save.”
“Thank you.”
Shannon stared at him, her expression intense. “You were going to be my father,” she blurted, then looked at Victoria. “Sorry. That just came out.”
“Totally fine,” Victoria lied, feeling she instantly wanted to push Shannon to the other side of the sofa and yell that Miltonwasherdad and no one else’s. Not a mature or proud response, but one that was honest. A reaction to the situation, she reminded herself. Milton’s love was the one constant in her world.
Her father smiled at Shannon. “This situation is a little strange for all of us, but I’m glad you came to dinner. It’s nice to see you grown-up.” He paused. “Actually we never saw a picture of you after you were born. We only have the ultrasounds. You look very much like your mother did when we knew her.”
“I hear that a lot,” Shannon said. “I guess my biological father’s genes couldn’t compete. So, um, Milton, what do you do?”
