Page 11 of Winning the Dad

Lucas let go of Romero and hugged me. “Dad… Thank you so much for coming.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” I held him a little longer. “You both look amazing.”

Romero seemed uncertain of how to greet me, so I pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you for making my son happy.”

“That’s entirely my pleasure, sir.”

His smile was wide, and for a moment, I was taken aback. He reminded me of someone, but who? “Please call me Sawyer. You’re family now.”

“Thank you, Sawyer.”

“I didn’t invite Justin.” Lucas’s voice was cold, as if calling his other father by his first name hadn’t been enough of an indication of his feelings. “Just so you know.”

“Oh, I’m aware.” I’d received a nasty rant through text, in which Justin accused me of pitting Lucas against him. The thought that his infidelity and the way he’d treated me had been the reason for Lucas’s decision to break off contact apparently hadn’t occurred to him.

“He bitched to you about it?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s your wedding day, so focus on the good stuff, okay?”

“My dad is here.” Romero stepped away.

Lucas gave me another hug, a rare occurrence. “You’re right, Dad.”

“I’m happy for you, kiddo. Romero seems like a great guy.”

“He’s the best, Dad. I love him so much.”

After a last squeeze, I turned to greet Romero’s father. The blood drained from my face. Oh Jesus, no.

Romero beamed. “I’d like you to meet my dad.”

“Jack,” I said hoarsely, praying to whatever god was listening that I wasn’t betraying any of my inner turmoil.

“Sawyer…” Jack looked just as shocked, so he hadn’t known either.

Romero frowned. “Wait, you two know each other?”

This time, the words came easily. “We met playing blackjack yesterday.”

Technically, that wasn’t a lie.

“But we didn’t realize we were your respective fathers,” Jack said, recovering quickly.

Also not a lie.

Our sons chuckled. Thank Jesus and all the saints, they didn’t suspect anything. “That makes things easier, then,” Romero said. “We can skip the awkward introductions.”

He was right about the introductions part, not so much about the awkwardness. This was the most uncomfortable position I’d ever found myself in. How did I tell my son I’d hooked up with his soon-to-be father-in-law?

The officiant approached us, and Lucas and Romero stepped aside to chat with her.

I sidled closer to Jack. “Please tell me you didn’t know.”

“Not a fucking clue.”

“Thank fuck. Now what?”

He was quiet for a few beats. “Now we act like nothing happened.”

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