Page 73 of The Bluffing Game

“What are you talking about?” She stares at me like I’m crazy.

“You said his name was Parker, right? I assumed maybe he went by Peter Parker.”

“Very funny.” She rolls her eyes at me.

“What? You’re the sort of woman who deserves a superhero. Don’t you think so, Rosie?”

“Maybe she wants Batman or Superman.” Rosie gives me a wide smile and winks. “Are you Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent?”

Sage hits her in the shoulder before I can respond. “Really, Rosie?”

“What?”

“Let’s go.” Sage ignores her sister and steps toward me. “If you’re ready, of course.”

“I’m ready.” I nod.

As we walk to my car, I look over at Sage and debate whether or not to ask my next question.

“What was Rosie going on about? Was she saying that I’m Batman or Superman? I didn’t realize she thought I was a superhero.”

“She was just joking. Didn’t you know she wants a career in comedy one of these days?”

“No, I didn’t know. I thought she wanted a career in trying to date Brett.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. She’s no longer interested in him anyway. She’s barely seen him. Speaking of Brett, have you heard anything from him about my dad?” She pauses and looks down.

She looks somber, and it’s always a surprise when I see her serious like this. Like she’s vulnerable and she can be easily broken. She’s so strong that I know she hates coming across like this.

“Actually, when we get in the car, I can call Brett if you want. Last thing I heard was that he was following up with some leads. I gave him your mom’s phone number, and I know he was going to ask her some questions.”

“Cool,” she says with a warm smile. “I mean, he might not be able to find my birth dad, and that’s okay.”

“You want to know who your real dad is, and I hope he can find him. Brett is the best, so if anyone can find him, it’s him.”

“Yeah, it’s weird, you know? A part of me feels like I shouldn’t even want to know. He obviously didn’t care about me, and I did have a dad growing up. It wasn’t like I had no one, but there’s a part of me that wonders if I met him, if we connected, if we could have that sort of father-daughter relationship that I see other people have, like Rosie and our dad have.” She sighs and lowers her voice. “I always wondered why he seemed to prefer her, and I never understood. I just thought maybe I was too loud, too annoying, or maybe as the oldest one, I wasn’t deserving of the most love, but it’s because she’s his birth daughter. She’s his flesh and blood, and no matter how much he cared for me, it just wasn’t the same.”

“I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt”—I stop and stare at her—“that a real man loves a child no matter what the DNA report says. A child doesn’t have to be your blood for you to love them,” I say.

She smiles at me. “Thanks for that. I don’t mean to disparage my dad, but you know …” She shrugs.

“I get it.” I reach out and squeeze her hand. “The strongest bond is love, and DNA has nothing to do with your heart.”

Her lips tremble, and I give her a quick, warm hug. She hugs me back, and I can feel her take a couple of deep breaths.

“It’ll all work out as it should,” I whisper before we pull apart and get into the car.

“You can come in if you want. I’m not going to be super long. I’m just going to take a quick shower and change.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I think about teasing her and asking if she wants me to join her in the shower, but then I think about the evening we had earlier, and I don’t want to ruin that memory. I don’t want to cheapen that moment of her opening up to me with a sexual innuendo. There is a time and place for everything, and this isn’t the time.

We head up to the condo, and Sage immediately walks over to the kitchen and opens the fridge.

“You want something to drink?”

“No, I’m okay. I can help myself. I know the place well.”