“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“Wait, we have some wedding stuff to talk about,” Tiffany calls out from the trophy room.
“Jesus, Mom. We don’t have anything that needs to be discussed tonight. Let the man go get some goddamned sleep.”
Once we’re in the car, Lizzie starts driving before talking. “Sorry about her. Straight to the hotel?”
“I really am pretty tired.”
She nods. “I bet that time difference is kicking your ass, old man,” she says with a smirk.
“Rude, kiddo. Just rude.”
She laughs. “You sound like Minnie. Do you have any plans while you’re here?”
“Only plan is to hang out with you.” And win Amelia back.
“Well, lucky for you, Min took care of most of the shit that wasn’t done yet last week, so this week is a lot clearer than it was going to be. Let me know when you’re up in the morning. Unless it’s stupid early. If it’s stupid early, find something to do until a reasonable hour, but after that, we’ll pick some fun shit to do. I’ve always wanted to show you around.”
“I know. I was really looking forward to it before I got so damn sick and had to miss your high school graduation. We had a lot planned for that trip.”
“We’ll make some of it up,” she says with a happy smile.
“Is your fiancé joining us?” I ask.
“He’s kind of got this vacation-mode thing going on, hanging with his buddies. He’s not good with wedding planning anyway, so it hasn’t been a big deal. But I’m hoping he does some stuff with us.” She shrugs, and I wonder just how much it bothers her that he’s off doing whatever the hell he wants to while she and her best friend bust their asses to make sure everything’s done for the wedding.
Lizzie and I have a good relationship, but it’s been limited to mostly just the two of us. I haven’t been involved in the rest of her life enough to feel like I’m qualified to offer her fatherly advice. But I want to know more about my daughter, so I ask, “Why didn’t you ever tell me you were in beauty pageants?”
“Because I hated them, and I hated that I let Mom talk me into doing them for so long.”
“I would have helped you stand up to her if you needed me to. You can always come to me for shit, Lizzie.”
Me calling her by her name makes her look over at me. It’s pretty rare that I do it. She got mad at me for it when she was little, saying she’s my kiddo, so I save it for big moments.
“Yeah, I know. I just hated the thought of making you have to talk to her or the two of you fighting because of me. Minniehad my back, though, and she helped me. She always has my back.”
“She, uh, she seems like a really good friend.” My heart clenches again. For both of them. I’m glad my daughter has a friend like Amelia. Or Minnie, I guess.
“She’s the best. I can’t wait for you to get to know her.”
“Why does she call you Bean?”
Lizzie laughs. “It’s just a play on words, really. Or I guess a play on my name. Elizabeth became Elizabean, which became Bean.”
She stops at a red light and turns her head my way. “So what happened with your secretary?” she asks, her eyebrows raising curiously.
Shit. How the hell do I talk to her about this? “I was an asshole and she quit. And she won’t talk to me, so I haven’t had the chance to beg for forgiveness.”
“Keep trying. You love her. I know you do. So you can’t give up.”
I shake my head. “Jesus. Apparently, I’m total shit at hiding my feelings from you. And Katie,” I mutter.
Lizzie barks a laugh. “Of course you can’t keep it from Katie! That woman knows everything.”
Not everything…“Why are you so concerned with my love life all of a sudden?”
“Because for the first time in my whole life, you actually want one. You always sound so happy when you talk about her. I’m actually pretty pissed at you for fucking it up.” She huffs and glares at me.
