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“Hmm?”
“I want you to meet them.”
She lifted her head. “You do? At the game?”
“Yeah. I thought maybe we could all get something to eat afterward too.”
She hadn’t expected that. She’d figured he would spend Saturday with his parents after the game, and she’d see him whenever he was free.
“If you don’t want to—”
“I’d love to meet them.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, Drew.”
“Okay. Good.” He let out a breath.
“Were you nervous about asking me?”
“A little.”
She’d never heard him quite like this, hesitating over an invitation when she would’ve said yes the second he asked.
“I want to, Drew. Really.”
“All right. Saturday, then.”
They stayed on a few more minutes before she finally told him to get some sleep. After they said good night, Nicole made herself get up and get ready for bed.
Nicole came out of her bedroom the next morning to the smell of bacon. Her father was sitting at the dining table near the windows, lifting the silver cover from a plate. Room service had laid out breakfast: French toast, eggs, crisp bacon, a basket of pastries, and a small pot of coffee beside his cup. A glass of orange juice was waiting at her place.
While she buttered her French toast, he asked whether she’d heard anything else from the art department. She’d already told him she’d been accepted; now there was paperwork to finish, a spring schedule to work out, and the science classes she still had to get through.
“I know I need to study,” she said. “But every time I get home, I end up in the studio.”
“You still getting your work done?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Then you’ll be all right.”
Easy for him to say. He didn’t have to make himself care about another anatomy exam when he could be painting. Still, she was smiling as she reached for her juice.
Her father was watching her. “You look happy.”
“I am. I’m ready for next semester.”
“I’m glad you went through with it.”
“So am I,” she said. “I was telling Drew how good it’s going to feel to spend all that time painting instead of sitting in a lab.”
Her father set down his cup. “Who’s Drew?”
Well, there went keeping that to herself. Nicole lowered her glass. “A guy I’m seeing.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You’re seeing somebody?”
