“Don’t worry, you’re doing great,” I insist.
“Am I?” she asks.
“Trust me. He likes you. And he doesn’t like anyone.”
“Oh, lucky me,” she says, and I grin, winking at her before we sit down. The waitress places multiple dishes to share in front of us. Everything from seared ahi to chimichurri grilled shrimp to a charcuterie board.
“I have to admit,” my dad says as he digs into the shrimp. “When I heard that my son was seeing someone, I didn’t know what to expect.”
Here we go,I mutter internally while keeping an easy smile on my face. I lean back in my chair, lacing an arm around Mila, placing my hand on her hip.
“Oh?” she asks as she gingerly takes a sip of her water with a smile. “And why’s that? Does Dom have a reputation for bringing questionable girls home?” she teases. I squeeze her hip.
“Actually, he rarely brings girls home at all,” my dad says. “Which is why this is such a lovely surprise.You,my dear, are a lovely surprise.”
“Well, you’re sweet,” she says, placing her hand on my thigh. It’s a subtle way of letting me know she is laying it on thick solely for his benefit. “I only regret that he didn’t introduce us sooner.”
“Better late than never,” he says. “Do you want a drink? Something besides water? The muddled berry gin and tonic is phenomenal here,” he says.
“I’m fine with water,” she says.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
“Very,” she says while unraveling her silverware from the black cloth napkin. “I wouldn’t want to make the wrong impression.”
My dad smiles; it’s genuine. I take note of the moment that hell must have frozen over. “Trust me, my dear, you have made a very good impression.”
“I don’t know how you did it,” I tell Mila as we head back to my car after the party. We stayed longer than I expected, mingling with my co-workers and even talking to my dad for over an hour. The tension that has always been there was still there. That will never change, but it wasn’t unbearable, and that’s saying a lot.
“I didn’t really do anything,” she says. “I had a good time. Your friends are fun.”
“And my father?” I ask, and she smiles.
“I think I did well there, don’t you?” she asks.
“I think you did magnificently,” I tell her, opening the door for her.
“I think I should get a bonus for that,” she says, and I wait before closing the door, bracing it in my hand.
“Oh really?” I smirk. “And what did you have in mind?”
Mila taps her manicured nail to her lips with a sly smile and mischievous eyes. “I’ll have to think about it,” she says, and I grin.
I slide into the car and buckle my seatbelt. But before throwing the car into drive, Andrew appears at my window. I roll it down and he leans over.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Niko’s losing his mind, that’s what,” he answers. “Apparently one of the security cams is down at the Cockpit. He wantssomeone to go check on it. You want me to send one of the techs over?”
“No,” I say, scratching my chin. “They’re all still at the party. I’ll swing by and check it out.”
“Sounds good,” he says, patting me on the shoulder.
As we pull onto the street, I turn to Mila. “Is that all right?” I ask and she just smiles. I can’t help but smile too at how amiable she’s being tonight.
“Of course,” she answers, and so we head off to the Cockpit.
We use the back door and turn on the overheads by the stage. Mila walks around slowly, her eyes sweeping over the room.
