Page 12 of Siren's Heart

He tells me all about their day trips, which sounds like a blast, even with the kind of weather they're having. They've visited all the tourist spots in London, and now they've rented a car to drive along the coast and explore the countryside.

"You're going to have to send me some pictures," I scold him. I haven't received any yet.

"Of course, Honey." He smiles at me, and suddenly, a question weighs heavily on me. Should I ask him?

"Hey, Dad?" I sit up, throwing the pillow I was holding to the side.

"What's up, Millie?"

I gulp. Am I really asking him about this? Why am I even entertaining the thought of dating Luca? I’ve just told Kayla I’m taking a break from dating.

Because he seems special.

Before I can change my mind, I press out the question, burning at the tip of my tongue.

"When you and Mom got together. How did you know that she was... worth it? Putting yourself back out there and taking the risk of heartbreak?"

My mom is his second wife. A few years ago, when I was in my early twenties, after an evening with a lot of cocktails involved, he was feeling nostalgic and told me about his first wife. How he found out that she'd been cheating on him for almost the whole duration of their relationship and ultimately left her, around the age that I was when we talked.

It’s not quite comparable to what's going on with me, but I guess the foundation is similar. We both had our hearts broken, though for different reasons.

Contemplative silence fills the line, as his eyes dart around their hotel room, until he finally breaks it by taking a deep breath.

"Loads of therapy, that's for sure," he chuckles, and I can't help but smile. I can cross that off the checklist, although that doesn’t quite eliminate my media problem. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. There was no 'Ah!' moment or anything like that. I had a hunch the first time we met, and the more I got to know her, the more I just...knew. There's no way to describe it; it was just a gut feeling.” He looks back at me sheepishly. “I guess that's not helpful to you at all."

"No, no. It's very helpful," I assure him, my eyes dancing over the cream-white and way too-high ceiling. Seriously, how do they heat this apartment in the winter?

"Why do you want to know?" Curiosity is written all over his face and he leans his chin on his propped-up elbow in his established ‘I’m listening’ move.

"Just... for future reference."

"Hmm." I can hear the implied 'suuuure,' in his voice, but luckily, he doesn't pry. For now. "Well, tell me when it's referencing."

"Of course." I hear my mother's voice in the background again. "Well then, have fun in the whirlpool. Don’t get kicked out of the hotel."

"We will try our best."

"He brought a damn rubber ducky!" My mother shouts so I can hear it before she starts cackling.

"Excuse you. I brought two."

"Hanging up now. Bye!" I say, and hurry to click the red symbol to end the call. I love my parents, but I don't need to know about their bathing habits.

I throw the phone onto the couch next to me. Dad was right, actually. What he said was not helpful at all. I groan and reach for another pillow, cuddling it to my chest.

So what now?

Media aside. In a perfect world where I was a nobody, what would I want to do?

The answer is simple. In a perfect world, I'd go up to him, chat him up, and wait for him to ask for my number. In a perfect world, we'd kiss and ride into the sunset to live our happily ever after.

This isn't a perfect world, though. It's a world full of disappointment, pain and unfairness. But a girl can dream, right? I reach for my phone and type his name into the search engine. Nothing might ever happen, but looking at pictures of a beautiful man and quenching my curiosity by checking out his publicly available information won't hurt anyone either.

Luca

A week. It's already been a damn week since I last saw her. Not that I'm counting or anything.

The last few days were for strength training, which meant all of us were crammed into a provisory gym they’d set up opposite the stadium from where all other training facilities are located.

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