Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“Thought you’d want to help out your old man,” he says, his voice a little softer. He looks out onto the city and scoops up my hand, bringing it to his chest. “You remember when we used to climb out onto the roof of that apartment in… where was it?” He glances at me.
“Jersey City.” It was the last apartment where he visited me and Mom. We only went up to the roof once. When my mom found out, she lost her mind. When Dad suggested it again—our little secret, he said—I refused, knowing my mom wouldn’t approve. Looking back, it wasn’t the best decision my father ever made from a safety perspective. There were no railings and I had to climb out of a window to get on the rooftop, but I caught a glimpse of the freaking Empire State Building. It was one of the best days of the summer for me.
“We ate beef jerky and played Fleetwood Mac until it rained,” he says.
I can’t help but smile. “I remember.”
“Not quite the views from this rooftop, but not bad.”
“I’m Leo.” Leo steps forward and holds out his hand to shake my father’s. “I’m Jules’ boss.” He dips his hand into his jacket pocket and pulls out a business card. “Why don’t you come see me and I can figure out if I have a job for you? Call that number and my assistant will set something up.”
I feel my pulse start to throb in my neck. No! He can’t give my father a job. He doesn’t understand how this will turn out. My father won’t turn up. Or will turn up and—god knows where he got the handfuls of cash he used to turn up with after a period of being gone. Did he rob banks in that time? Steal from his employers? I won’t let him take advantage of Leo.
Dad can’t have read the announcement in The Times very well, because he doesn’t put together that Leo is my fiancé. Long may it stay that way.
He reads the business card and I catch Leo’s eye. I shake my head. “Don’t do this,” I mouth.
“It’s okay,” he mouths back.
“Dad, you have to go,” I say. “I’m working.”
“Okay, okay. I know when it’s time to leave a party. Speaking of party, is there a nice cozy bar in this hotel?”
“It’s not open,” I lie. “Please, Dad, you need to go.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Leo says. “This place is a maze. Don’t want you getting lost.”
“Dollface, I’ll call you,” Dad says from halfway down the stairs. He pauses and turns back to me. I don’t have his number, and he doesn’t have mine. “We’ll go for coffee,” he says.
“Sure,” I say. That will never happen.
“I’m busy this weekend, but what about next week?”
“Maybe. Before work?” I ask, expecting the early hour will put him off.
“Sure thing, doll.”
I wasn’t expecting him to say yes to that. The next thing I know, he’s coming back up the stairs at a jog. He holds out his phone and I realize he’s asking for my number. I enter my details. What am I doing? Should I just shut him down and get Leo to throw him out?
Thoughts of that afternoon on the rooftop in Jersey City fill my head. I wanted him to be that dad all the time. The exciting one. The fun one. The one who was there.
I hand him back his phone. “You have my number,” I say. “If you message me, I can give you a date for coffee.”
“And if you call my assistant, we can arrange a meeting,” Leo says.
I exhale. The balls are all in his court. As much as I’ve agreed to coffee, I understand there’s a ninety percent chance I won’t see him for another decade after today.
But then… there’s that one-in-ten chance he might call. We might have coffee. I might rebuild some kind of relationship with him. I didn’t realize it until now, but something buried deep within me hopes that’s still possible.
NINETEEN
Jules
I’m starting to think the double tequila shot before I came out this evening was a bad idea. But after seeing my dad, I needed something to help me chill out before meeting Sophia. Part of me wanted to cancel tonight and run back to my mom. But I don’t want to let Sophia down.
“Shots!” Sophia calls. I know I should say no, but alcohol makes it easier to lie to my friends that I’m engaged and not tell them I saw my dad today. Both topics feel equally forbidden.
Sophia still hasn’t straight-up asked me if the engagement is real. She’s asked me some more questions, almost daring me to be honest with her. I explained that we’d shared a kiss and he’d decided he didn’t want a fake fiancée anymore. She’s going along with it. It’s all I can ask.