Page 113 of Brooklyn Cupid

She does feel better and cocks her pretty brow. “I’m spoiled by good food, you know. My mom is a fantastic cook.”

“Is she?”

“Oh, she’ll feed you like she’s getting you ready for slaughter. And if you refuse to eat, she’ll force-feed you. You’ll like her. She’s cool.”

I will? Does that mean she told her mom about me?

Hey, Ma. There’s this cute nerdy guy who rents a room from me. He’s cool. He’s an orphan, was in the service, is a former sniper, currently a bounty hunter, and is hunting your friend Reznik. Oh, and he totally shot me with a sedative the first night we met and lied his way into becoming my roommate.

That introduction would go real fucking well.

And yet, a guy can dream.

“Your dad is cool, too?” I want to know more, and not from the intel Miller gathered.

“My stepdad, yeah.”

Wait, what?“Stepdad?”

“He’s my dad. I only found out not long ago he wasn’t my biological dad.”

That’s new. “Youknowyour biological dad?”

She nods. “Mom told me when I was eighteen and introduced us.”

“How did that go?”

Lu smiles. She’s not angry, so it must not be so bad.

“He didn’t know I was his. Mom decided she’d tell me when I was old enough. She was pregnant when they broke up, in fact, they weren’t really together. And that’s when she met my stepdad, and he took care of her and raised me like his own. Then Mom reconnected with my biological father and told him, then told me.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I was angry at first. At her.” I can’t picture Lu angry. “Then I thought about it and figured my mom had her reasons, and I love my dad to pieces.”

That’s Lu. She sees the best in people.

Miller never discovered this piece of info. I should tell him, but then I know what’ll happen—we’ll illegally snoop through every detail of Lu’s family to find out about her biological father, and I don’t want to do this to her.

Lu finishes her burger and wipes her lips, then gets up, walks to the railing, and gazes at the city for some time.

“Then I met my biological father.” She exhales loudly. “I can’t be mad at him, because he didn’t know. Even requested a DNA test. Understandable. It’s a weird scenario. My stepdad is understanding. So is my biological father.”

“So, you are all good?”

Life can be a bitch and full of surprises. But Lu is the most positive person I’ve met.

I come over and wrap her in my arms. She sags against me, and we gaze at the setting sun for some time.

“He has an adopted son. But I’m his only biological child, and he started throwing money at me like he can buy the eighteen years back. And I can’t have that. But we talk every month. We met up a bunch of times. I met his family, but I still have a hard time accepting money.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to make it on my own and show my parents that I can help them. I send them money, you know. I guess, to prove that I have a talent that’s worth something.”

“Your biological father just wants to reconnect, Lu. I’ve never had a family. I would be excited to get to know them, I think, though I never got access to that info.”

“I know. But… I need time. That’s why I quit university. I wanted to make it big. Big dreams. Big aspirations. Look at me.” She chuckles. “I live in someone else’s place, renting out a room, scrambling in a small space, doing a dozen things at once.”

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