Page 103 of Whisking It All

Jamie let the door swing shut behind him and took the seat across from Ethan. He lifted the beer that had been waiting for him and took a long pull from the bottle.

“Ethan—”

He held up his hand to stop Jamie from speaking, his eyes trained on the top of the desk. When he spoke, his voice was calm and low. “You lied to me.”

Jamie swallowed hard. “I did.”

“I fucking hate that.”

“I know.”

“She’s my kid. You don’t get to lie to me about my kid.” Ethan lifted his eyes to meet Jamie’s for the first time. Jamie nodded, every muscle in his body pulling tight. Ethan shook his head and took another sip of his beer. He wrinkled his nose and stared at the label on the bottle. “This beer is shit.”

Jamie laughed, a halting sound born of anxiety and disbelief. Ethan was still mad, but he was there. He was talking. It was progress at least.

Jamie set his beer down and leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Fuck, man, I’m sorry.”

“So you said.” Ethan took another sip of the beer, made the same disgusted face, and then pushed the beer away from him. “This thing with you and Tessa… What is it exactly?”

Jamie eyed his friend warily. “You want to know…”

“I’m trying really hard not to picture any of the details,” Ethan said, wincing, “so you can spare me those. But I need to know what the hell we’re talking about. Is it serious? Or—”

“Or do you need to punch me again?” Jamie asked.

Ethan smirked. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I deserved it.”

Jamie met his friend’s eyes across the table and made a decision. He couldn’t have this conversation with Tessa’s father, not without making a mess of it anyway, but he could talk to his best friend. So that’s what he would do.

“I love her,” he said, the words making his throat tight. “I’m in love with her. And I think I have been for months.” Ethan’s brow wrinkled. “Do you remember Whisky? The girl from—”

“The internet. Yeah, I remember. What’s she got to do—”

“It was Tessa,” Jamie said. “All this time, it was Tessa. I didn’t know it until a few weeks ago but once I knew…I couldn’t un-know. You know?”

Ethan let out a breath and slumped back in his chair. “Your internet girlfriend was my daughter.”

“She wasn’t my girlfriend then.”

“But she is now?”

He didn’t know how to answer. Was Tessa still his? Had she ever been? Yes, she’d said she was his, but then less than twenty-four hours later, she’d jumped on a plane without telling him and they’d barely spoken since. He had no idea if she was even coming back. She’d run, not just from the mess with her father, but from him. True, she’d asked him to go with her, but she hadn’t trusted him enough to stay. To fight by his side for the life they’d imagined having together. Maybe he was the only one who had wanted that life all along.

He didn’t know what they were anymore. But he knew he still loved her, still wanted her.

“I hope so,” he said at last.

“You never were the casual fling kind of guy,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “I just never thought you’d end up with my daughter.”

“Me neither,” Jamie said, huffing out a laugh.

“Does she love you back?” Ethan asked.

And fuck if that wasn’t the million-dollar question.

“I don’t know. I thought she might, but then…” Ethan nodded, understanding all the things left unsaid in that pause. “I asked her to stay. Here, in Aster Bay. With me. I asked her to move in with me. We were going to tell you when we got home from Boston. We had always planned on telling you.”

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