Page 55 of Me and Mr. Just Right

“Yeah. The kids were asking when you’re coming to see us again.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t expected this. Sure, they’d made her feel welcome last time she’d come—but her siblings didn’t care that she was famous, and her stepmom always seemed to be trying a little too hard. She often wondered if they were relieved when she left. “Um, I don’t know. I’ll have to check my schedule.”

“Okay.”

They were both silent for a moment, and she could hear her half-siblings in the background talking to their mom.

Her dad said, “Well, it was good to hear from you,” and she recognized the beginnings of closing a phone call.

“Wait, Dad. Do you have a minute … to talk?”

“Oh.” He sounded surprised. “Sure. Let me just get into my office. Hang on.” She heard him moving around, and the sounds got quieter. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know where to start.” To her mortification, though, she started to cry. She hadn’t cried once since leaving Alaska, but now it all came pouring out of her in one huge rush.

“Is this about Bo?” he asked quietly.

“You know about that?”

“Everyone knows about it. Marissa wants to send him a bouquet of dead flowers.”

Lia laughed through her sniffles. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you to cry. I just … I just needed someone I could talk to. Who won’t sell me out to the press.”

“Then it sounds like you came to the right person. What’s going on?”

Lia filled him in on everything, starting with Bo and Gwen and finishing up kissing Haydn and then being rolled into airport security in an art case. At one point, she heard Marissa come into his office, but he told her he’d have to meet them wherever they were heading, and he kept on listening.

Warmth rushed through her at the realization that she was talking to someone. Trusting them. And it didn’t really matter what her dad said, if he had good advice or not. What she really needed to know was that he cared about her.

“It sounds like you need a good old-fashioned family dinner.”

“Dad.” She laughed, and realized at some point she’d started crying. It was something he used to say when she was growing up, whenever she’d had a hard day at school. What she wouldn’t give for one of her dad’s overcooked hamburgers. “As much as I’d love that, I just got home. I can’t get away again.”

“Then we’ll come to you. The kids are off for summer, Marissa is due a few weeks off of work, and it’s been years since I brought everyone to Nashville.”

As much as she’d love to see him, she remembered why they’d stopped coming to see her. The attention from the press could be overwhelming, and she couldn’t go anywhere with them without making the whole trip miserable. “That’s okay, Dad. I’ve got a benefit concert next weekend, but maybe I can get away for a few days after that.”

“I’m already looking at plane tickets. Where’s the concert? I’ll grab tickets for that too.”

“The concert is sold out, but I can get you guys some tickets in the front.” She paused. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said, sounding serious. “I wish I would have known all of this sooner, Lia. I’m here for you, okay. Even if I’m all the way in North Carolina. I know I get busy sometimes, but I’m never too busy for you.”

There were those darn tears again. She blinked them back and said, “Okay. I love you.”

“Love you too.” It had been a while since she’d heard that phrase and believed the person meant it. It was nice. More than nice. Essential.

She ended the call, feeling just as much peace as she’d felt out on the Forresters’ island. It really was good to have people on her side.

Chapter 26

“Ohmygosh,Haydn.What did you do?” Rosie was sprawled across his bed, in the hotel room he was sharing with Bennett, scrolling through her phone. Nashville was a lot more humid that he’d expected, and he’d moved to the seat right next to the air conditioner.

“What?” he asked.

She sat up straight, still scrolling. “Please tell me you didn’t comment on her fan page. Wait, no. Multiple fan pages?”

He winced guiltily. “Jules thought it might be a good idea—”

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