Page 120 of When Fate Breaks
And the day I lost him.
My shoulder slams into someone else’s, bringing me back to reality. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I say reaching out to grab the arm of the innocent bystander I just ran into. I look up and see a wash of silvery hair and hazel eyes. “Oh, Chuck. Hey.”
“Where’s the fire at, Annie?” Remy’s business partner asks, straightening his jacket.
“Under me, as always,” I reply, forcing a chuckle. “Sorry, really. Somebody called my name and I was zoned out trying to find them.”
“Well, you are the star of the show tonight,” Chuck says, tipping his head. “Prepare for your name to be called a lot more in this town in a month’s time.”
A month’s time. After the wedding, he means. “Ha, right,” I mutter.
“Hey, is this old man bothering you?” I glance up, seeing Remy appear over Chuck’s shoulder. “Hey, babe,” he says, not waiting for my response and kissing my temple, his lips still wet with beer from the bottle he’s drinking from.
“And how many of those have you had?” Chuck questions, nodding to Remy’s beer bottle.
“What are you, my mother?” Remy replies, arm still hooked around my neck.
“No,” Chuck smiles, shaking his head. “But I’m pretty sure I just saw her at the bar.”
“Well, there you go,” Remy raises his beer and takes another drink. “Like mother, like son.”
“Well, speaking of the bar,” I pipe up, my face suddenly feeling very hot, “I think it’s about time I head there myself.” I grab Remy’s hand, unraveling myself from his hold and giving his hand a quick squeeze and kissing his cheek before I pull away. Remy and Chuck continue their conversation, not even acknowledging my exit.
I fan myself, feeling overwhelmed. I need some air. I don’t make it five steps, however, before I stop in place.
“Hey, Annie-bell.”
“Dad,” I breathe, my throat feeling tight. My father stands in front of me, suit jacket on top and Wrangler jeans on the bottom. The smile lines and wrinkles around his eyes are newly standing out, but his brown eyes are as soft and warm as ever. I let out a sigh, standing on my tip-toes to wrap my arms around him. “Hey. I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Sorry, I’m late. Had to close up the store.”
“I know,” I say, pulling away. “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t expecting you until later.”
“Well, you know I strive to exceed expectations.”
“I do,” I smile.
Like father, like daughter.
“I was just about to head to the bar,” I say. “Do you want me to grab you a beer? Or a bourbon?”
I feel a heat against my back and the same time my dad’s eyes shift from my face to over my shoulder. Both of our lips part at the same moment, my dad’s most likely in shock and mine from the realization that I never allowed myself time to plan for this happening.
“Di Fazio?” my dad mutters, seemingly frozen in place.
My eyes fall shut, my teeth going into my bottom lip. I blow a deep breath out of my nose, allowing myself to count to three before I turn to the side, removing the barrier between my dad and Blake.
When I look at Blake, all uneasiness or frustration from earlier is absent from his face. His teal eyes are shining and lips are pulled up into a smile. “Brett,” he says, shaking his head as he steps forward to extend his hand to my dad. Dad snaps out of his daze enough to step forward, completely bypassing Blake’s handshake and pulling him into a hug instead.
“Oh my God,” Dad says, pulling back from Blake, his eyes glassy. “Why–How?” he stammers, looking from Blake to me.
My mouth still hangs open, but words are struggling to come out. When you dig yourself into a hole, it becomes harder to dig yourself out the deeper you go. I think I lost track of how deep the hole was going quite a while ago. “Blake is–uh. He’s here because he– I–” I sputter.
“I’m here to fix the greenhouse,” Blake finishes for me, his eyes glued to me and his expression unreadable.
“Greenhouse?” my dad questions. “Annie-bell you haven’t told me anything about this.”
I see confusion pinching both Dad and Blake’s brows, and that only makes my throat tighten further. “Sorry, I–I’ve been busy. I didn’t–”
