Page 38 of Ice Ice Maybe
I could feel her surprised gaze on me, but I kept my eyes locked on Mr. Dalton. The air crackled with tension as we faced off, neither of us willing to back down.
“Everett—this is not good for your heart,” Mrs. Dalton said, appearing to be the peacemaker.
“My heart is fine,” Mr. Dalton said, not taking his eyes off me. “And Nolan obviously has something on his mind. Go ahead, get it out.” He crossed his arms and waited.
“You’re right. I have something to say.” I stood my ground, my heart pounding but my resolve firm. “First, I still can’t believe you would talk to your own daughter that way. She’s an amazing woman, in more ways than I can count.”
Mr. Dalton ground his teeth. “Have you finished?”
“Not even close,” I said. “It was my idea to give away the tickets, not Zena’s, and I’ll explain why if you’ll listen without yelling, judging, or blowing a fuse.”
Zena reached for my arm and squeezed it. “Nolan …”
“It’s okay—I can handle this,” I assured her. “And your father deserves to know the truth.”
“You got that right,” he said. “Let’s hear it.”
“Fine,” I said. “If you want to know why I gave away the tickets, Mr. Dalton, it was because I was sure they would be put to much better use with someone else. Someone who really could have used them.”
“Who would that be, exactly?” he asked.
“That’s not the point,” I said. “I did what I believed in my heart was the right thing to do and I would do it again if I had the chance.”
“Me too,” Zena said firmly. “Nolan asked for my permission to give away the tickets. Of course, I said yes.”
“I also had a better idea to irritate Mitch, much better than taunting him at the game,” I said. “It obviously worked. You saw it for yourself in the hallway.”
Mr. Dalton huffed. “The proof is in the puddingandthe final score, Nolan. He hasn’t even played the game yet.”
I shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”
“You’d better be right.” He paused, then surprisingly switched gears when he asked, “And why haven’t you used the credit card I gave you? There’s no activity on it. Zero.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I track everything,” Mr. Dalton replied, his tone making me feel like I was back in school, caught passing notes. “I told you to spend whatever money you need to make your relationship look legit, and to spoil my daughter.”
Zena fingered the pendant around her neck, a soft smile playing on her lips as she glanced at me. “He gave me this.”
Mr. Dalton peered at the silver octopus, scratching the side of his head in confusion. “Why didn’t that show up on the credit card purchases?”
I shrugged. “Because I bought it with my own money.”
Zena glanced at me, her eyes wide with surprise. “You did?”
“That is not part of the plan,” Mr. Dalton said, his brow furrowing. “I told you I would cover all expenses.”
“And I appreciate that, but I wanted the gift to be from me,” I said, feeling the need to explain myself again. “If I used your money, it wouldn’t have felt like a genuine gift.”
“But the gift is still not real,” Mr. Dalton said. “You’re faking it. You’re faking everything.”
I was glad I’d called him out on his disrespectful behavior toward Zena, but this was definitely not the right moment to correct him and tell him I wasn’t faking a thing or that I had feelings for his daughter.
“They have become friends, obviously. This is wonderful,” Mrs. Dalton said with a smile. “I see nothing wrong with what Nolan did. It’s not like it’s a diamond ring.”
A flicker of hope burned inside me, like she was on our side.
Zena bumped my hip. “That was sweet.”
