Page 96 of The Sweet Spot

And I never, ever thought that when I did, it would be with my father.

* **

Arlo sits across from me on the blanket, chewing on a carrot stick as he gazes out at the ocean. He brought the cooler. It sits between us, packed to the gills by my mother when she realized I wasn’t coming back for it.

We don’t have much planned besides sitting here and vegging out. It’s a good way to spend Arlo’s last day in Santa Cruz.

The wind whips my hair around as I close my eyes and turn my face to the sun. It feels good to be outside, even if I am still tired from last night’s shenanigans. Arlo looks a little tired, himself. I swallow a giggle. This morning hasn’t come up yet. I get the feeling he’s waiting for me to say something. But what?

Hey, so you and Mom, huh? How long has that been going on? Impregnating her decades ago doesn’t count, for obvious reasons…

“What are you smiling about?” he asks, amusement coloring his voice.

I open one eye and peer at him. “I think you know.”

He chuckles. “If this is about this morning, we thought you were an intruder…”

“As funny as that was, it wasn’t the most shocking detail of the day.” Now I’m laughing, too. “I thought she didn’t even like you, Arlo!”

“Well, to be fair, I don’t think she did—”

“Notwhat it looked like a few hours ago.”

“At first,” he amends. “She didn’t like me at first, but that’s because she didn’t know me.”

“Let me guess—you seduced her with more macarons.”

“No, I finally got around to visiting the studio…I even took a class.”

I snort, shaking my head. “You did not.”

“I did. It wasn’t my first time doing yoga, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” I tease, rolling my eyes.

“Ah, there she is. The teenage daughter I never had,” he teases, cocking his head.

“But I’m twenty…”

“My apologies.Anyway, Lily gave me a tour and then, before we knew it, it was time to close. So, we grabbed some takeout and headed back to the apartment. And you know what? We have more in common than you’d think.”

“More in common besides me, you mean?” I smile sweetly.

“We’re both independent, only children. We both like being in control, being our own bosses. We may have had different upbringings and lifestyles, but there’s something kindred that I recognize in Lily.”

He’s so earnest that I can’t even tease him anymore. I turn my attention to the churning sea, letting the lump that’s begun forming in my throat dissolve.

“I’m sorry about this morning, that you found out like that,” he says, his voice barely audible over the crush of waves. “It was inappropriate. But I want you to know that I don’t regret what happened between your motherand me.”

“Were you guys going to tell me?” I ask, drawing my finger through the sand.

He pauses.

“You know she doesn’t do relationships, right?” I say. “My mom’s not…built for that.”

“I think that’s between her and me, Wren. And yes, we would have told you when the timing was better.”

I wrinkle my nose. “When would’ve been a good time? You’re leaving tomorrow.”

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