I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck.“Maybe?”
“Did she spend the night here?”
“Maybe?”
“When do I get to meet her?”
“You’ve already met her.”
“Not as your girlfriend.I want to meet her, Dad.”
I knew that tone, and it was one that said I had no choice.“Okay.”
Nineteen
Reegan
When Josh walkedout of his house the next morning carrying not just coffee but a tray with food on it, I smiled.It was new and different, and I assumed it was because we missed sharing breakfast the day before when Evie returned home early.
I was wrong.
“Evie wants to meet you,” Josh said once he’d set the tray down and kissed me.
“We’ve already met.”I inhaled the bold scent of his coffee and took my first sip.
“She saw us kissing yesterday morning.”
I choked on my coffee.“What?”
He winced.“She came out of her room while we were outside, and she saw us.She knows you spent the night, and she wants to meet you again.As my girl… As someone I’m dating.”
“I thought you said you never had a woman at your house.”My tone was sharper than I intended.More accusatory, too.
To his credit, he didn’t react to that.“That’s the truth.She’s never met anyone I’ve been seeing.Ever.”
“Then why does she want to meet me?”Was I screeching?I felt like I was screeching.Panic did that to a person.
“You don’t have to,” he said quietly, a thread of disappointment in his tone.
I drew a breath.We were sleeping together.We were having fun.And if I was going to uproot my entire life and move to Amethyst Bay, the chances were really good I’d see him around town, even if we didn’t keep seeing each other.
Meeting his daughter was not that big of a problem.Just because it made me more nervous than meeting a guy’s parents ever did, it didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it.
“When?”I asked.
His gaze snapped to mine, distrust and banked hope fighting for dominance.“You’ll meet her?”
I drew a breath and released it slowly.“I already met her, and she’s really sweet.But I’m… nervous?Is there a stronger word than that?”
“Why would you be nervous?”
I scoffed.“The most important person in your life wants to meet me.Why would I not be nervous?Terrified?Panicked?”
The smile that settled on his face was more than pleased.It was more than joyful.It was positively sinful with delight.“Be careful.You’re making it sound like you want her to like you.”
“I do!”I slowed my breathing.I was not going to admit how far I’d fallen for him, or that I was hoping to make Amethyst Bay my permanent home.Or that I was really hoping to make his bed a more regular place for me to wake up.He didn’t need to know all of that.
“I want her to like you, too, Reegan.She is the most important person in my life, but that doesn’t mean you don’t matter to me.”He leaned across the arms of the chair separating us and pressed his lips to mine.
