Jeez—I’m never gonna hear the end of this.
“We’ll make room for him here,” Jack Murdock states as he stands and grabs a chair from an empty table.
Mr. Ames and Faye slip back into their side of the booth, and I take the hot seat at the end of the table. When my knee bumps hers, Faye reaches for my hand and squeezes it tight.
Instantly, my body relaxes.
“So…” Mr. Ames starts once we’re all settled, “has this been going on long?”
Again, Ryan covers his mouth and suddenly is very interested in his cup of coffee.
As a dad who happened to be a colonel in the Air Force, I’ll admit, it was sometimes entertaining to put all the guys wanting to date any of my daughters on notice. Being the guy on the other end of that script, clearly interested in dating this man’s daughter, it’s not nearly as entertaining.
Faye and I are grown adults, and I certainly have nothing to hide.
Clearing my throat, I look him straight in the eye. “We ran into one another a little over a week ago.”
Mr. Ames quirks a brow and smirks at his daughter. “Does this have anything to do with that time you had ants in your pants and called me bright and early, itching to get out of your house?”
When Faye nods with a shrug, Mr. Ames shakes his head and grimaces to himself. “I knew something was off that day. Your panties were all in a twist. You were jumping at everyone who walked through the door, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.” Locking eyes with his daughter, he points to me. “I presume this fella was the reason?”
“We’d bumped into each other the day before.”
Suddenly, his attention turns to me. “So, does this mean you’re back in town for good?”
“Yes, sir. I’m here because my daughters and their families are here.”
Mr. Ames darts his eyes from me to Ryan. “Oh, that’s right. He’s your son-in-law. He and Lanie have the cutest kids.”
“Yes, they sure do,” Jack muses as he reaches for his mug of coffee.
“It’s a small world.” Ryan smirks, still not looking me in the eye.
“And it keeps getting smaller,” Mr. Ames agrees.
“Okay…” Faye interjects. “It’s a small world. We all get it. Mark and I are seeing one another, and it’s time to get on with it.”
Shaking his head, Mr. Ames chuckles in delight. “Your mom is gonna be pissed she didn’t make it to breakfast. She missed the tea of the century for this small town.”
“We’re not that big of a deal,” Faye huffs in annoyance.
“Oh, this is pretty big,” Ryan says under his breath as he sits up straighter in the booth.
Thankfully, Martha comes to deliver their food, and all is forgotten, for now.
“I’ll be right back with yours, Mark. Can I get you some coffee?”
“Yes, please,” I plead.
My adrenaline may have me on full alert now, but once my nerves settle from this little escapade, I’m sure I’ll be crashing once again.
When everyone’s occupied with their meal, Faye leans toward me and asks, “When did you get back?”
“I drove straight here from the airport. I didn’t expect you to be up.”
“We like to grab breakfast once a week or so,” Mr. Ames interjects before taking a bite of his pancake.
“I’m surprised we never ran into one another,” I wonder aloud.
