Page 75 of Snowed In with My Best Friend's Dad

"It wasn't Liam's fault. He's as much a victim as I am. We were drugged. I promise, Dad, I didn’t take it on purpose."

In my mind, this situation was bullshit, but I was so filled with rage that I couldn't trust myself not to say things that would hurt her in the same way I’d hurt Miranda.

I took her to my place and put her in her childhood room to let her sleep. Once the drugs and alcohol wore off, I would talk to her.

I headed downstairs to my office, sitting in my desk chair as I downed a couple of fingers of scotch. I wondered if this was the universe punishing me. I’d had it so good for so long. Maybe I had been a little too cavalier with women and my money. Maybe my daughter getting involved with people who could derail her future, and Miranda, the one woman I've ever loved, who couldn’t look at me without disdain were my punishment for being a dick.

How could I keep on like this?

I had to keep on. Lindsay was my daughter. Miranda was my love carrying my child. I couldn't waste my time on pity. I had to suck it up and be a man.

28

Miranda

Ididn’t hear from him or Lindsay for a few days, and I thought that perhaps he’d finally gotten the message. When he’d left the night I’d let him touch me, he looked so defeated that I felt sure he had given up. I told myself that it was a good thing. But deep down, my heart ached. His giving up was not what I really wanted. What I really wanted was the sweet, kind, gentle man he was showing himself to be. And yet, I still couldn't fully trust him to control his darker side.

A few days later, I learned that Lindsay had been picked up by the police high on drugs and alcohol. I remembered Brett was so concerned that he wasn’t a good father. I could only imagine this made it worse.

Lindsay minimized the situation. She chalked it up to not paying attention like she should to her surroundings.

“Someone put drugs in your drink, Linds. Maybe it's your friends, not your surroundings.”

“It will be fine, Mira.” While Lindsay made the whole thing to be no big deal, she did refocus on finishing school and ended things with Liam. I took that as a good sign. Brett must have too as he started showing up again. I had to hand it to Brett. The guy was persistent and patient.

He showed up wanting to playTrivial Pursuit. Another time, he came by during the day with a picnic basket, taking me to lunch in the park. Every other day, sometimes everyday, he showed up. While there were a few more stolen kisses, there was no more sex, and to be honest, that was frustrating because all of a sudden, my libido had cranked up two hundred percent.

Tonight, he took me to an art gallery. It was after hours, but he had been able to get us in, and we took our time as we checked out the exhibits. We reached an artist that I recognized had done the piece hanging in my bedroom.

When we stopped at a piece of art, we talked about it. Well, mostly, he'd ask a question and then I'd prattle on like a know-it-all. But he seemed to like that.

Afterward, he took me to dinner in a quiet, secluded restaurant where it felt like we were the only two people in the world. As the dinner ended, I realized that I was precariously close to losing my ability to keep from loving him.

He reached across the table, taking my hand. "Over the weekend, I need to go up to the cabin to check things out and get it ready for summer."

I sat across the table feeling warm and safe as I stared into his eyes.

"I was hoping you'd come with me."

I blinked, not expecting his invitation.

As if he expected me to retreat, he held my hand tighter. "We don't have to do anything, except perhaps you could beat me atTrivial Pursuit. And of course, there won’t be peppermint liquor in the hot chocolate. But it could be nice. We haven't done a lot of talking about the baby."

I frowned. "This is about the baby?" Disappointment filled me. I thought he was making a move to tell me he loved me, but it was all about the baby.

"Is that wrong?” he asked.

This time, I did tug my hand back, telling myself I was such an idiot. "No, but we don't have to go out of town to do that. We could do it here."

He rose, moving his chair closer to me as he sat down facing me. One of his hands pushed the hair away from my face as his other hand rested on my forearm. "I know we could do it anywhere. But I want to do it there. I want to spend some time with you. Away from everything."

"What about Lindsay?"

"I told her I would take her up there after graduation. With things between her and Liam being over, finally, thank fuck, she's back to studying and recommitting to her future. That's her effort, not me making her do it."

I nodded, knowing it was true. She had been in touch with me a lot more. I'd hoped that she'd realize Liam wasn’t good for her. At the same time, I knew the breakup was hard on her.

“So. Will you come?

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