You have no idea.
Tina
Itotally understand if you don’t want to come. I can deliver some food from the restaurant if you prefer. We’re still closed today, but I’ll be cooking for all my crazy relatives anyway, so you’re more than welcome to join us there.
Having my family here will give me something other than Carson to worry about, at least for a little while.
He doesn’t answer right away, so my mind runs away with itself. Why would he want to meet my family so soon? Or ever. We’re not together. It makes sense that he wouldn’t want to know any more about me than he already does. We slept together a few times and went for a walk. And laughed. And talked. And he carried an intruder out of my apartment. And he’s the best snuggler.
Damn it. I really like him. I probably more than like him, if I’m being honest. Now is not a good time for this. Not while trying to get this situation with Carson sorted out. But I can’t seem to get him out of my head, no matter how inconvenient the timing is.
Nick
We’ll be there. Want me to bring anything?
The breath leaves my lungs in a rush of air as my shoulders slump with relief.That was a stressful couple of minutes.
Tina
Just yourselves. Does around 6 work?
Nick
Can’t wait.
I tuck my phone away, take a deep breath, and start the car. Time to get this over with so I can get back to what’s really important. Finding Carson. And maybe after that, figuring out what this thing with Nick is.
“Hi, Honey.” My dadjumps off his barstool and throws an arm over my shoulder before planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Hey, Dad. Where is everyone else?” I swivel my head around, looking for my mother and aunts. However, they’re nowhere to be seen.
He rolls his eyes. “Nonna Mona saw a bus full of old folks and demanded they follow it. Before I knew what was happening, your mother had handed me a twenty and steered me toward this bar. They all piled in the minivan and left me here to drink by myself.”
Charlene tips her chin up at me from behind the bar. “Hey, Tina. Stan’s your dad?”
I smile as I glance back at my father. He’s been here ten minutes and is already on a first name basis with the bartender. “Yeah, Charlene. Sounds like he drove a van full of women overan hour to come visit me, then they ditched him as soon as they could.”
She shrugs. “He seems nice.”
“This wonderful young lady put on the sports channel while I waited for you. She wouldn’t let me watch anything other than last year’s American Cornhole League Superhole championship, though.”
“It’s like I already told you, Stan. We take our cornhole seriously here in Tuft Swallow. If we’re watching sports highlights, it’s cornhole or nothing.”
Dad nods, grabbing his beer from the bar top and taking a swig. “You make a valid point, Charlene. When in Rome, and all that. Maybe I should learn how to play?”
“I bet you’d like it, Dad. They probably even have a seniors’ league in Boston if you really got into it.”
He grins as he chugs the rest of his beer. “You think I could meet that Shemar Moore fella?” He nods at the TV where, sure enough, the actor Shemar Moore is winding up to toss a bean bag at a cornhole board while his ACL Pro partner looks on with confidence. “He’s been number one on my hall pass list since his Derek Morgan days.” He swipes at his mouth with the back of his hand, pulls a twenty-dollar bill from the front pocket of his shirt, and drops it on the bar top. “Charlene, honey. It has been a real pleasure.” He raps his knuckles on top of the twenty. “Keep the change.”
Charlene stares after him, mouth and eyes wide, watching as he walks out of the bar. “Did your dad just…?”
“Did my sixty-seven-year-old father say he has a handsome male actor at the top of his hall pass list?” I grin, loving the fact that my father has always been more comfortable with his sexuality than many other men his age. “He sure did. That’s pretty standard for him. What I’d like to know is, when did Shemar Moore take the top spot? Because last I heard, TomSelleck and his magnificent mustache were permanent residents of the number one position.”
Charlene barks a laugh. “I kind of love your dad.”
“Yeah. I kind of love him, too.” I smile and follow my dad out the door. No matter how helpless my father might be around the house, he’s a decent man.
The sight that greets me when I get back to the street makes me freeze. There, standing in front of my restaurant, talking to my dad, is Wade Biddescombe. And I’m just now realizing I forgot to call him and warn him about my family being here so he’d be able to keep his real identity private. And from the look on my dad’s face right now, he recognizes him.
