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We just stared into each other’s eyes.

“Oh, did you remember to stop by the house and feed Pussy?” he asked.

I laughed. I loved that he was worried about the cat right now. We still hadn’t agreed on a name. “I did. She’s fine.”

“Good.”

“Um...so...” Adonis said. “My dad is here.”

“I know.”

Adonis lowered his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe?”

“How?”

“I’ve kind of been sneaking into his office and leaving him increasingly nasty letters on his desk. He’s going to hate me. But I’m so glad he’s here. You were so cute when you saw him...”

Adonis silenced me with a kiss. “God I love you,” he said. And then his whole body tensed.

I swallowed hard. It was the first time he’d said that to me. And I wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or not. He was probably just lost in the euphoria of his victory. But I didn’t get a chance to ask because someone cleared their throat.

I looked over at Mr. Ariti, who was staring at me climbing his son like a tree. I wiggled out of Adonis’ grip.

Adonis cleared his throat. “Hey, Dad.”

“Good game,” Mr. Ariti said.

I wasn’t sure what I expected. The two of them to hug, maybe? But that didn’t happen.

Mr. Ariti turned to me. “You must be the girlfriend. Sophia, is it?”

“Sophie,” I corrected. Had my handwriting been that bad? Or was he just being saucy with me because I’d called him a bad father several times? Or had he forgotten because Adonis talked about me all the time and called me by his nickname for me? I was pretty sure it was the saucy thing, because Mr. Ariti didn’t look happy to see me. “It’s nice to officially meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” I put my hand out for him.

“It seems as though you have heard some things about me.” He looked kind of annoyed with me. But he did shake my hand. And he didn’t mention the bad father thing. “And I’m guessing you’re the one that’s responsible for that demon cat running around my house?”

I forced myself not to laugh. Adonis had told me that Larry didn’t like his father. Which was behavior I approved of. But I felt awkward standing here in front of Mr. Ariti now, since I’d been condoning Larry’s behavior. I nodded. “Yes.”

Mr. Ariti stared at me for a moment. “It’s a menace.”

“No, she’s not. She...”

Adonis cleared his throat. “Maybe we could all go out to dinner to...” he didn’t get to finish his sentence because Jacob lifted him up from behind.

I laughed as Adonis celebrated with my friends.

I stole a glance at Mr. Ariti. He seemed maybe a little less pissed than he had earlier as he watched his son celebrating.

“I’m sorry,” I quickly said. I didn’t want him to hate me.

He turned to me. “Sorry for what, Sophie? Calling me a bad father? Or...negligent? Or hateful. Thoughtless. Selfish. Or for when you called me a derelict? You seem to be a walking thesaurus.”

Yeah, I’d used so many regretful words. But I didn’t really regret it. Because he was here, wasn’t he? “If you’re expecting me to apologize again, I’m not going to. You’re here and that’s what matters.” I turned back to Adonis and smiled at his huge smile.

“Well, I guess I should thank you then.”

I was surprised by his change of tone. I looked back up at him.