Page 90 of Until Now

“That she has.” Tessa squeezed his hand gently, a lingering smile between them. I smirked behind my coffee at the interaction. I always thought Tessa had a thing for Daddy. I wouldn’t object, even if Tessa was secretly a bitch, anything was better than my mother. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Just holler if you need anything.” Standing, Tessa dusted off her jeans before she disappeared into the kitchen.

“Not a word,” he said, turning his attention to the newspaper.

“I didn’t say anything, Daddy,” I stuffed a piece of pancake in my mouth, a satisfied smirk on my lips.

“Just eat your pancakes.”

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“Daddy?” What was he doing here? We aren’t exactly on the best terms, I figured he wanted to put breakfast on hold this year. So, I’m rightfully confused seeing him sitting in our normal booth at Honeybee’s Cafe. Daddy folds the newspaper and looks up at me over his glasses. “You’re here?” I sit across from him.

“It is your birthday.”

“But—”

“There she is!” Tessa bursts from the kitchen door dressed in jeans and a loose T-shirt. Her graying hair pulled into a loose braid of her shoulder. She sets a stack of funfetti pancakes on the table and refills Daddy’s coffee. “Happy birthday, Princess. Holler if y’all need anything.” I don’t miss the small squeeze on his shoulder before Tessa leaves.

“I thought you were still mad at me. Why would you want to do this?”

“Because Nina, I’m trying to move past it.” He puts his glasses away. “Avevi ragione. It’s the end of October and this is long overdue.”

“Daddy, mi dispiace.”

But, he holds his hand up in pause. “Nina, I don’t understand, and maybe I never will, but I’m trying. I want you to be honest with me about all of it.”

I nod in understanding.

“Did you know him before?”

“We met in college, if he is who I think he is. He brought me home one night after a party. We didn’t do anything, he just made sure I got home. He was a gentleman and he was nice. And, I liked him.”

“Quindi, perché sei uscito con Lee?”

“I’d only met Nick once, but I couldn’t remember his name and it wasn’t like we swapped life stories, so I didn’t have much to go off of when I was looking for him. It was like he fell off the face of the Earth.”

“Until now?”

“Until now,” I confirm. This was the first time I was admitting it out loud. I have always been grateful for the cute stranger who offered to drive me home from Phillip’s party.

Here are the things I already knew…Nick had gone to Rosecliffe and studied architecture. The photo Jonas sent to Lee proves he ran around the same circle we did. Which means we more than likely ran into each other, had probably even attended the same parties. Here is what I didn’t know…after the death of his wife, Jimmy struggled to keep up with the business and Nick decided to push pause on school and help around the garage. Nick dropped out of Rosecliffe — an abrupt departure.

I am so sure Nick is the same boy from the party. The boy I had been looking for but never found. The one who could have stopped me from ever dating Lee, ever going through that heartache.

“I looked for him, but he was just…poof. Gone. I think, after talking to his dad, that was around the time he dropped out because his mom died.”

“His mother died?”

“It makes sense. I never saw him again, until he spilled coffee on me and then when he walked into my office with Josh.”

“Did you know it was him?”

“No. I mean, I thought he looked familiar, but I didn’t know.” His silence begs me to continue. “When we met this time, he didn’t seem to like me. So, I thought he’d be a good fit. You guys didn’t know him and he didn’t like me. I thought it would be easier to cut ties at the end of the summer, but things changed.”

“What changed?”

“We became friends. He realized I wasn’t the spoiled brat who got everything and everyone she wanted. And, I realized he just needed someone to help him pull the stick out of his ass and have a little fun.”

“You’d be the person to do it,” Daddy laughs. “So, where do you stand now?”

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